20 / matters magazine / fall 2026 T here is something wonderfully sus penseful about putting a dollar into a vending machine when you have ab solutely no idea what will come out. It might be a tomato. A sardine tin. A bagel. A tiny tribute to a be loved book or local landmark. What ever appears, it will be small enough to fit in your wallet – and charming enough that you probably won’t want to leave with only one. Inciardi mini prints have arrived in Maple wood, bringing affordable art, old-fashioned vending-machine fun and a serious temptation to start collecting. Even more remarkably, Maple wood is home to two of just five Inciardi vending machines in New Jersey. Yes, two. That means our little town possesses 40 percent of the state’s Inciardi machine population. At this rate, “Mini-print Capital of New Jersey” may need to be added to Maplewood’s welcome signs. The Maplewood machines can be found at Words Bookstore and Shopkeeper. The other three are at The Newark Museum, The Bookstore in Princeton and Good Deeds in Cape May. In other words, you could plan an entire New Jersey Inciardi road trip. The transportation might cost considerably more than the artwork. Created by artist and printmaker Anastasia In ciardi, the miniature works measure roughly two by three inches, with designs inspired by food, places, everyday objects, pop culture and the small things that make people happy. The experience is simple: Insert a dollar – often four quarters, although some locations use tokens – turn the knob and receive a surprise print. The idea began during the great quarter short age of 2020. Inciardi originally imagined install ing a machine in her Portland, Maine apartment building to collect quarters for laundry, inspired by temporary-tattoo vending machines she re membered from New York City sidewalks. The laundry strategy became something much bigger. Inciardi launched her first mini print vend ing machine in 2022. Today, more than 200 can be found around the country. It may be the most successful laundromat-adja cent art movement in recent history. The prints may be playful, but the artistic pro cess is real. Slight variations in alignment give the prints texture and individuality. They’re produced using soy-based inks and solar power. Of course, the surprise is a large part of the fun. Every pull is random. You may get the design you hoped for, discover a new favorite or receive a duplicate that becomes excellent trading material. And yes, people absolutely collect and trade these. There are more than 700 known designs, cata logued by collectors into rarity levels. Some are “common,” others “limited,” and especially rare prints are called “unicorns.” Retired designs are “out of circulation.” Four Quarters, One Tiny Masterpiece With two of New Jersey’s five Inciardi mini-print vending machines, Maplewood has become an unlikely capital of pocket-sized art BY ADRIANNA DONAT This couple was visiting from Princeton and stopped at Words Bookstore specifi cally to buy some art from the Inciardi vending machine.
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