Retail

Art-o-Mat continues to thrive

Image provided by Art-o-Mat.

February 17, 2023

The Art-o-Mat, a refurbished cigarette machine that sells art from various artists, has been a big success at the Saint Kate The Arts Hotel in Milwaukee, having sold 10,000 pieces of art since the hotel opened in 2019, according to a tmj4.com report.

The Timber Lane Studio and Gallery in Wales, meanwhile, has sold 500 pieces of cigarette box-sized art since the gallery opened in April 2022. Kami Strunsee, an artist and owner of Timber Lane Studio and Gallery, said there is an entire community of people who collect art from these machines.

Clark Whittington, who founded the Art-o-Mat in 1997 Winston Salem, North Carolina, leases the machines to galleries, hotels and libraries. The machines cost $5,000 plus $2.50 for shipping.