In need of a quick art fix? Milwaukee’s Littlest Print Shop, a retro vending machine, is serving prints in snackable sizes for a mere 50 cents (coins only!). “I’m not really in it for the money,” says Parker Vande Hey, who makes the prints and operates the machine. “It’s more to get my art out there and to get people excited for something cool.” Vande Hey hand-carves rubber blocks and then stamps the image onto 2.5-by-3.5-inch cards. The 15-piece series is Milwaukee-themed and includes images such as the Milwaukee Art Museum, a racing sausage, the Allen-Bradley Clock Tower and a map of the city. Feeling the desire to catch them all? That might have something to do with the vintage machine’s history – it was originally used to vend Pokémon cards. You can find the machine at Ebb & Flow Design Co., 906 E. Center St.

Q&A With the Artist

How did you choose the different landmarks featured in the machine? 

It was honestly a lot of brainstorming. It started off with [the question], ‘What are the most Milwaukee things that come to mind?’ The few I started with were the pretzel because of the cultural heritage here. The Art Museum was always going to be one of the designs, because – dare I say – it’s the most iconic building in Milwaukee. It’s so recognizable, it’s so different, so I wanted to focus on that. The Wisconsin Gas Building with the lighted flame on top is so recognizable as well, and that’s not something you see everywhere. I wanted to focus on the things that were specific to the area that would be immediately recognizable for anyone.

Do you have any favorites? 

Definitely the art museum, it turned out a lot better than I thought. I like that one a lot. The map was a pretty cool one, because it shows Downtown Milwaukee. And then another one of my favorites is actually the German sausage from the Brewers. I think that one is so iconic and different. 

How did you find this vintage vending machine? 

After I started brainstorming and actually working on the idea and decided to commit to it, I spent all day, every day scouring the internet for a used one. I would search on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, eBay. Finally, this one popped up on eBay. It was in Oshkosh and that same weekend I actually had to head up north to Green Bay, and I had to drive through Oshkosh. So it just worked out perfectly to pick it up. 

How have people responded to the machine? 

It has been incredible! There’s been so many people reaching out, so many comments, so many likes. It just seems like people believe in the idea as much as I do and get as excited and giddy as I do over it. It’s just great, it feels so good. 

What’s next for you? 

I would love to do more of a series with the machine. I love the iconic Milwaukee prints, and I definitely want to stick with that long-term, but I would love to focus on other Wisconsin topics, or anything that would look cool in the machine.