Cigarette vending machines used to be ubiquitous, but now are mostly gathering dust. Art-o-Mat wants to change that, but by selling artwork instead of tobacco. Art-o-Mat, a company based in Winston-Salem, NC, takes the unwanted vending machines and repurposes them, installing them in businesses such as eating and drinking establishments, museums, markets and public buildings. There are currently “over 200 active machines in various locations throughout the country”, according to their website (artomat.org) including one in Roanoke, at Bread Craft on Church Street.
Artists who wish to sell their work via the vending machine must submit it Art-o-Mat, making sure that they comply with size requirements (no larger than a pack of cigarettes). Art-o-Mat then packages and labels each individual piece, and ships them around the country to businesses that have a vending machine.
Bread Craft’s machine has twenty two slots, one for each artist represented, and each slot can hold eight pieces. According to Paulie Lundvall, Bread Craft’s manager, the machine, which was installed between Thanksgiving and Christmas of last year, has already been refilled multiple times.
The bakery is decorated in a cool, vintage-y style, so the vending machine works as décor, but it also draws the interest of passers-by who are intrigued by the unusual premise—deposit your money and get a surprise piece of art.
Types of art found in the Bread Craft Art-o-Mat include jewelry, woodwork, keychains, mini notebooks and clay. Each piece costs $5.00, but you need to purchase a token at the counter since the machine does not accept cash. Once you find an artist whose label speaks to you, just deposit the token and pull the knob for that artist. Then collect your art from the tray and open the box to see what you got. The packaging will include the artist’s name, and a way of contacting them (email or social media), along with a request to let them know how far their art has travelled.
Bread Craft has stocked some art by local artists, but Lundvall would like to see the vending machine full of local work, because “all the cool, passionate people In Roanoke” would love it. Based on the popularity of the Art-o-Mat machine, they already do.
