Arts and Crafts Vending

Two licenses are required to operate in the Mall Concourse Vending Area (aka Downtown). Licenses are available on an annual or monthly basis. Licenses are not prorated or transferable. Fees are not due at time of application. Fees will be invoiced after approval.

1. Street Vending (Annual $250; Monthly $150)
2. Mall Craft Vending (Annual $500; Monthly $150) 
3. Reserved site fee is $150 and is only available for annual Mall Craft Vending license. 

• Art and Craft vendors must make everything they sell. No manufactured goods or imports may be sold in the Mall Concourse. The vendor must be the person who made the goods. 
• All products being sold in the Mall Concourse must be approved to determine eligibility and ensure they are hand crafted/handmade. 
• New applicants and returning vendors changing their product lines must schedule an appointment with the Street Vending Program Supervisor for a product review. Email Meghan Blake-Horst, mblake-horst@cityofmadison.com to schedule.
• Returning Arts & Crafts vendors, not altering their product lines, are not required to schedule an appointment. 
• General Liability Insurance policy
• Wisconsin Seller's Permit

• Handcrafted goods are those goods produced and created entirely by an Arts and Crafts vendor, with their own hands, from raw or basic materials changing these materials into a significantly different shape, design, form, or function. 
• An item shall not be considered handcrafted if anyone other than the vendor(s) named on the Arts and Crafts Vending license was involved in production. 
• Handcrafted goods shall not include food items, beverages or any other product intended for internal consumption. 
• Commercially grown, manufactured or processed goods in their finished form do not constitute handcrafted goods. 
• Any good containing a commercially produced item as a significant part of the good shall not be considered handcrafted unless such commercially produced item has been substantially changed in function or character. 
• For purposes of this Section, cut flowers and Christmas trees shall be considered handcrafted goods.

NO! The Dane County Farmers' Market (DCFM) organization operates a producer only farmers' market on the Capitol Square. This is State property and the DCFM has a permit to operate on the Square.   Additionally, they operate a Wednesday Farmers' Market, Holiday Market (at Monona Terrace Convention Center November - December) and Winter Farmers' Market (currently hosted at Garver Feed Mill January – April).

The City of Madison licenses vendors across the street on City of Madison property.  This includes food carts (prepared food), art & craft vending, merchant vendors, sidewalk cafes, roadway cafes and TEM permit holders. 

Without express written permission, vendors are prohibited from advertising or producing products in a manner that creates the impression they are affiliated with or endorsed by the Dane County Farmers' Market, which operates independently from the City of Madison.

For more information visit the Dane County Farmers' Market website.

• The licensed vendor must always be present at the vending site during which items are displayed, offered for sale or sold. 
• No unlicensed assistant shall sell, offer for sale, accept money, engage in prolonged commercial interactions or other transactions with customers or engage in any other direct vending activities.
• A maximum of two individuals may share a Mall Craft License. Each vendor must hold a Street Vendor License.

• Site assignment by seniority: Seniority is determined by the number of years a Mall Craft License has been issued to a vendor. The rank order list is based on date and time the initial application was submitted. 
• Reserved site assignments: Reserved site assignments ($150/year) are available only to Arts & Crafts vendors who have purchased both annual Street Vendor Licenses and annual Mall / Concourse Arts & Crafts Vendor Licenses. Reserved sites are assigned by seniority based on the number of years you have purchased a Mall Craft License.
• "Floaters": At 7:30 a.m. each Saturday, April – November, licensed Arts & Crafts Vendors, whether they have an assigned site or not, will be assigned an unoccupied assigned sites of other Arts & Crafts Vendors for that day. Street Vending Staff will assign these sites based on the established seniority order.
• There is no attendance requirement. It is common that during the season vendors attend other events. All vendors holding a reserved site must be in their site by 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning. If they are not in their site by 7:30 a.m. it will be assigned to another vendor for the day.
• Sabbaticals. A vendor may take one (1) vending season as a sabbatical (not purchase a license that season) without losing seniority, but that year will not be counted toward the vendor's total number of years of seniority. However, if a vendor takes two (2) sabbaticals in a three (3) year period, the vendor will lose all years of seniority and upon applying in the future for an Arts and Crafts vending license, that vendor will begin with zero years of seniority and be placed at the bottom of the seniority rank list.

Sites are two sizes and have the same fees. 

• 10'x 12' maximum: these sites accommodate a 10'x10' pop-up tent. Tent weights required (20-25 lbs per leg)
• 4'x8' and accommodate a table and small shade umbrella. 

Yes. For more information contact the Street Vending Program Supervisor to review your vending goals and opportunities. Email Meghan Blake-Horst, mblake-horst@cityofmadison.com to schedule an appointment.