Merchant Information

If you are thinking of setting up a merchant booth at Festival of Maidens, please read the following:

Our event location, the Illini Union Hall, has strict regulations about the exchange of money for independent vendors. These rules are determined by the State of Illinois and the building officials are not allowed to make exceptions. The most important issue, as far as the Illini Union is concerned, is to ensure that no sales will compete with the Union bookstore onsite. They also require a 15% cut of all sales at the event. While we realize that this situation is far from ideal, the Illini Union is still our best option for a remotely affordable hotel site for Maidens. We recognize that merchanting is one of the highlights of any SCA event, and appreciate your understanding and cooperation to make the most of this situation.

In order to operate a merchant's booth at Maidens:

1. Contact our Merchant Liason, Lady Ursul Wilhelm, with the following information BY DECEMBER 20:
• Your name & the name of your business
• Your phone number, email, other contact information if applicable
• A general description of the items you typically sell (NOT an inventory. I.e., costumes, jewelry, etc.)
• Preferred space requirements: table, corner booth, etc.

   

2. To avoid potential conflict with the Illii Union bookstore, we ask that you please do not bring any books to sell at this event.

    

3. After the event, when you have calculated your total sales for that day, send us a check for 15% by FEBRUARY 7 to the SCA, Shire of Wurm Wald. We are expected to add that amount to the fees we will pay the University of Illinois after the event. The 15% cut you pay will be based on your word of honor. The university will not be watching how much you are selling, but they will have your names and contact information if they do not receive anything from you.

On the bright side:

1. There is no Merchant site fee in addition to the basic individual site fee.
2. Merchants will be allowed to pull their vehicles up closer to the door nearest the Merchant Room for easier drop-off. When you arrive at the site, speak to the gentles who are directing parking for directions on the best route.
3. An advantage of the Illini Union site is additional traffic from the non-SCA university populace, which means a wider market for sales. Merchants at last year's Festival of Maidens were selling items to students, staff, faculty, and visitors to the university who were attracted to the event by all the people in pretty costumes and awesome stuff going on. There is definitely a market here for affordable impulse purchases that would be of interest to non-SCA folk as well as our established populace.

Again, we appreciate your patience and understanding, and look forward to working with you at Maidens this year. For more information, please contact Lady Ursul Wilhelm at brujahqueen @ yahoo dot com or visit the Illini Union website at http://union.illinois.edu/.