I started Good Things Vending in 2018 after years of working in what began to feel like increasingly serious roles in the hospitality and non-profit industries. I am not a serious person by nature, so I left to try and figure out what kind of work might make my not-so-serious life possible.

Growing up, my family owned an antique auction company that specialized in toys and games. My mother was also a working artist. Basically, I was born to mess around professionally. These family businesses put us in Japan for some crucial time in my early life where I found independence and, you guessed it — vending machines.

This love of art and nostalgia cemented in my childhood, combined with the amazing movers shakers and makers I had met since moving to Chicago in 2008, had me dreaming of opening stores, starting collectives, and organizing — really anything I could do to stay connected to the people who made the city vibrate. I worked a whole host of odd jobs and kept drawing and dreaming of building my own something.

Then it happened. I entered the right the set of Google search terms, and the next thing I knew there was an Automatic Products 4 Wide snack vending machine headed my way. At the time, I lived in a 3rd floor walk up in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood, and had absolutely no business buying a vending machine. But lucky for me, the very kind dudes at Letherbee Disillters lent me some (ground floor) space and the rest is this: Good Things Vending.

Since then, my world and the world in general have gone through some major changes, but vending weird shit stays. Thanks for tagging along and watching me try and figure this all out of the fly. It’s been truly thrilling, vulnerable, connective and inspiring work.

Here’s hoping this is just the start.