The rush from anticipation is like playing the slot machine at a casino, except the reward is a tiny, linocut print by artist Ana Inciardi. And it just costs $1.

Shop Makers, a store that opened this summer near Pike Place Market, has two Inciardi print machines that dispense instant gratification. They sell larger Inciardi prints and magnets, but it is the trading card-sized mini prints that have collectors creating spreadsheets and websites like this one.

Earlier this week, the artist (who is based in Portland, Maine) announced on her Instagram that she re-released her popular Moomin prints and Shop Makers is one of only eight stores nationwide to have these exclusive works. Inspired by the work of Finnish children’s book illustrator Tove Jansson who created the cartoon family of hippo-like trolls in the 1950’s, Inciardi initially carved the prints only for New York Botanical Garden’s Summer of Moomin.

Currently, there are almost 200 machines across the country, with seven in the Seattle area (including Hello Robin stores in Seattle and Bellevue, Offline Coffee, Thistle & Poppy, Chrysanthemum and two at Shop Makers). Each mini print vending machine charges $1 per pull, paid with four quarters or with tokens purchased at the register.

Many stores keep binders of prints, allowing customers to trade duplicates or look for prints they are missing. Unlike gambling, no one leaves feeling disappointed.

The idea for these addictive machines was born during the pandemic’s coin shortage. Inciardi thought it was a creative way to collect quarters to use at the laundromat. The result also aligned with her belief that art should be accessible and used to bring communities together.

Since 2022, she has created over 800 prints and partnered with everyone from children’s author and illustrator Richard Scarry to singer Harry Styles.