“How do we surprise and delight people?”
That’s been the question swirling around the minds of Wisconsin-based duo Nicole Reis and Sarah Van Dyke. They own Joy Vending Co. in Madison.
Their answer?
“We have a large, snack-size vending machine,” Van Dyke says. “It’s essentially the type of machine you’d normally see drinks and chips in. But instead, ours is packed with local art.”
Partnering with 10 local makers, it’s stuffed with Wisconsin-themed watercolor art prints and polymer clay earrings shaped like Cheez-Its, or craft kits for kids.
Starting less than a year ago, the pair has also stuffed two, old-school temporary tattoo machines with mini art prints. Reis designs them and they’re printed locally. The machines spend a month or so at different locales like breweries or boutiques (and, soon, weddings or other gatherings), tailored to the setting’s theme.
Van Dyke says it’s all about sharing moments of joy—hence the company name—and defining the area.
“Anytime people are doing fun and creative things, you have the chance of catching the eye of others and being like, ‘OK, Madison isn’t so sleepy,’” she says. “There are pockets of things happening.”
. . . happening both in Madison, yes, but also in our lives—including surprise.
“I think life can tend to be a bit of a slog sometimes,” she says. “And so I just love the idea of something that kind of jolts you out of that routine . . . It kind of just ignites your curiosity or your sense of playfulness, or it gives you something that you want to kind of nudge the person next to you and be like, ‘Wait a minute, look at that.’”
‘Art is Fundamental to Being a Person’
Over in Chicago, Illinois, Steph Krim says she’s part of this growing creative vending network. The Good Things Vending founder saved up $2,800 to buy her first machine; now she’s got nine (and counting) and an also-expanding crew alongside her.
Local muralists will paint the machines, stocked with “a rotating cast of local artist goods” and nostalgic items, Krim says. Everything is $20 or under.
“I believe that art is fundamental to being a person. And I think that art spaces that are accessible is something that we always need more of,” she says, adding vending machine art is often a portrait of collective creativity. “That’s just my favorite part of being a person.”
Krim says these machines are truly machines of community—they promote business traffic, artist visibility, and connection. And anyone can do it, she says.
“I have a full-time job operating an art vending machine business. That’s a real job that I just feel like I made up for myself. And I think when people hear that, they’re like, ‘Can I do that too?’ And if there’s anything else I could say, it’s like, ‘Yeah, you could.’”
Amy "Frankie" Felegy wrote this story for Arts Midwest.
