Women at Work: Taylor Valdés

When someone thinks of vending machines, they usually picture traditional items like snacks and drinks. Rarely, if ever in the United States, does one encounter something from an automated service machine that isn’t wholly unmemorable. After all, candy bars and soda are nothing to write home about and are readily available in countless stores across any given city. Luckily for residents in Portland, Oregon, the epicenter of everything wonderfully weird, vending machine artist Taylor Valdés isn’t interested in being boring or forgettable. Instead, she’s more concerned about unconventional wares and curiosities to sell in her infamously fun vending machines.

As the owner and director of The Venderia, an equal parts whimsical and interactive vending machine fleet, Taylor acts as a curator of goods and a purveyor of experiences. Established in 2013 with just one refurbished snack machine, The Venderia now comprises 20 machines located in various bars, boutiques, hotels, and other spaces throughout the city. One of her Venderias is even customized for the homeless, offering everything from earplugs to locks at cost. She also has collaborated with the Portland Trail Blazers on a vending machine that sells the team’s gear and other themed products. 

With her fun piñata and Creative Vending Weekly workshops aside, Taylor offers a six-part online course called Creative Vending Revolution filmed by educational designer Anne Parmeter. “The course covers everything you need to know to start a successful, non-traditional vending machine business, including Machine Selection, Location Evaluation, Pitching your Business, Customizing and Branding your Machine, Inventory Selection, and Management, plus Packaging tips and tricks,” Taylor explains. “Course purchase also gets you access to our online wholesale store, AND an invitation to weekly live zoom calls for Q and A with Taylor and other cool vending machine entrepreneurs operating across North America.” 

Taylor makes a big chunk of the products in her vending machine herself, including hand painting and embroidering items or sourcing and refurbishing random finds from Goodwill bins.

The U.S. is the most wasteful country globally, responsible for around 30%-40% of the planet’s total waste, which is primarily used only briefly despite the country only accounting for 4% of the world’s population. Interestingly, approximately 20% of the trash accumulated comes from homes and businesses that toss out durable goods that could be otherwise fixed or repurposed. Acutely aware of this fact, Taylor has adopted a more mindful, “what is old can be new again” approach to The Venderia’s business model. 

Originally hailing from San José, Costa Rica, Taylor’s perspective on waste and consumption differs from the average American. Around one-third of the line she stocks in her vending machines are thrift or second-hand. “I think growing up outside the United States gives me extra appreciation for the abundance, excess consumption, and waste in this country. My inspiration comes from yard sales, thrift shops, dumpsters, and the bounty of opportunity in America. I'm really good at making mundane things fun. A country full of cheap, used, American-made vending machines on hand and at the ready? Sounds like a party to me!”

The notorious mystery bags all packed and ready for you to discover what’s inside!

A small sample of The Venderia’s wide selection of offbeat goods . Not pictured: pregnancy tests, plastic vampire teeth, dice, coloring books, and so on!

The remaining two-thirds of The Venderia’s stock are either bought wholesale in bulk for a discounted price or curated by local artists. Some of her unusual merchandise include tarot cards, used books and VHS tapes, jewelry, lighters, playing cards, truth or dare packs, misfortune cookies, and her most popular items, mystery bags. Beyond question, Taylor has transformed the vending industry from ordinary into something extraordinary by providing her customers with a sense of adventure all at the push of a few buttons.

People remember how they feel after purchasing an item from The Venderia, which is why Taylor has so many repeat customers and a loyal following. From playing a nostalgic game of MASH with friends to finding your inner animal, one thing is for certain: The Venderias are more than just average service automated machines— they’re an entertaining disruption in your life that urges you to put down your phone and live in the present moment.

To learn how to make your own piñatas, take one of Taylor’s fun online workshops that guide you through the process. Information on when you can sign-up is available on her The Venderia Facebook page.

The Venderia is a one-of-a-kind business. How would you describe your machines to a person who has never heard of them before?  

The Venderia (ven-DUH-ree-uh) is a collection of unusual and intriguing vending machines. Each machine is hand-painted and filled with artwork, second-hand media, toys, jewelry, magic, and more. Our machines retail the works of over 100 local artists and reside inside of some of the coolest spots in the city.

I was instantly intrigued when I first saw one of your vending machines. They’re unique and cleverly designed, which brings me to the question: How did you get the idea to start The Venderia? Was there a particular experience that gave you an "aha moment," or was the idea for your business always in the back of your mind?   

This is a very long story, which is why I avoid getting into it! I am a lifelong crafty gal and entrepreneur. I can't help having an artistic side hustle or three, and I have been that way since I was a teen. Right after college, I got a job working in a bowling alley. I loved it! The machines did all the real work; I just checked people in and sprayed out their shoes and could spend the rest of my shift working on my embroidery. At that time, I had a business buying second-hand sweaters, embroidering them, and reselling them at cool boutiques. The bowling alley experience led me to want to open a laundromat— another automated, machine-based business because of how awesome is it to have a business that makes money while you can hang out and make art?! So my boyfriend and I moved to Korea to teach English and save up money for the laundromat.  

While in Korea, we saw all kinds of unusual vending machines, including book vending machines. That gave me the idea to have a cool vending machine in my laundromat that could dispense books and games and fun stuff for people waiting for their laundry. Well, we came back to the States, and I wrote a business plan for the laundromat. I was working on securing all the financing and a location when, along the way, I purchased a vending machine for just $150 from a laundromat going out of business.  

A year later, after many failed attempts to buy a laundromat and much frustration, the boyfriend-now-husband and I decided to buy a house instead. But we had to do something with the damn vending machine in our garage! So I asked my favorite bar if they were interested in a funky little machine that would sell hangover cures and local art and used media. They said yes, and away we went! Initially, I just filled the machine with silly stuff in my apartment that I didn't want to move, plus second-hand media and art made by friends. My buddy from the bowling alley pinstriped the machine. He still paints all my machines.

Where can someone find your vending machines?  

Within the Portland area, our machines live in bars, boutiques, hotels, art galleries, and even, in collaboration with the Portland Trail Blazers, inside the Moda Center. You can find some of our unique products in eclectic vending machines from California to North Carolina, Illinois to Maine. We mentor people across the country and encourage others to use vending machines in innovative ways.   

Do you have any outside of Portland or overseas? 

Not yet, but it's in the works.

I know you have plenty of machines scattered across Portland already, but do you have a dream location to open another Venderia? 

Right now, my life in Portland is pretty good. After years of growth, I have all the machines I want and don't really dream of opening new locations for myself these days. That said, I am super excited to see folks I've mentored launching their machines. It's amazing to see people placing machines in cultural centers, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, coffee shops, art galleries, mixed-used retail locations, libraries, transit centers, tattoo, and barbershops in cities and towns across the country! I am especially interested in seeing the creative vending movement come to small towns and rural areas. I had never really imagined a market for creative vending outside dense, urban areas, so it is fascinating and joyous to see creative vending machine operators in small towns thriving. I also love seeing how each vending machine business owner builds out their route and puts their own spin and style onto their collection of vending machines.  

The Venderia is filled with local art and other exciting finds. So who are some of the artists you work with to stock your machines? 

Some of the artists we work with are Dark Exact,  Vortex Vintage, Wokeface, and Vanport Mosaic. Fellow creative vending machine businesses we collaborate with include The Vending Co, Lucid Vending, Those Vending Machines, Moonlight Vending, Detroitland Vending, Good Things Vending, Dope Art Mini Mart, and Wanderstay Vending.

How would you say The Venderia has impacted your community? 

Every single day our vending machines are out in the world enhancing the mood, making people laugh, bringing visual splendor, and sprinkling a little randomness and excitement onto the paths of passersby. To the makers we work with, we provide a novel way to sell products in numerous locations. To the locations that house us, we bring a memorable, interactive, eyecatching element to their space. And to our customers, we offer cool, locally-made, unexpected products and an out-of-the-ordinary experience. 

What is the most rewarding part of your job?  

My favorite part of this business is making inexpensive, vendible products that make a customer giggle or blush, or both. I love that my art can reach so many people in a REAL and TACTILE, PHYSICAL way while I am doing something else completely! I also love owning a business and being my own boss. I have been a serial entrepreneur my entire life, and that yearning for the freedom to own my own time, make and sell what I want to make and sell runs HARD through my body.  

You're a true creative with a wide range of fun, thoughtful, and interactive products at your disposal. Recently, I learned that you also run a piñata workshop. Can you talk a little about this project and the inspiration behind your thera-piñatas? 

I love making piñatas, and I believe that piñatas, like vending machines, can be much more than just vehicles for mass-produced junk food. With that in mind, I came up with thera-piñatas. Thera-piñatas are piñatas designed for a therapeutic release. Every thera-piñata comes with a prompt. Players write their answer to the prompt on a slip of paper and then stick it in the piñata. When the piñata bursts, all the slips of paper scatter and can be shared. Piñata making was my primary creative outlet during the lockdown, and it really helped me get through the pandemic. Now that my machines are cranking again, I'm finding it hard to keep up production. I'm not sure I will keep making piñatas to sell, but I will keep making them for fun and leading piñata workshops.  

As the go-to authority on all things vending, do you have any advice for someone looking to start their own vending machine business but aren’t sure where to begin?  

Take my course when you really want to start your business. In the meantime, join the creative vending Facebook group. It's a great place to ask questions, share ideas and get to know other people working in creative vending.   

Intrigued? Follow the @thevenderia and @vendingmagic on Instagram to stay up to date with Taylor and The Venderia, or hit up Taylor’s website, vendingmagic.com!

For a more in-depth look at Taylor Valdés and The Venderia, visit Oregon Live or check out these Business Insider Today and The Oregonian segments to find out more about her day-today-process (and to have a peek inside her infamous vending machines!)