SLO County store dedicated to love has a new location — and an art vending machine
A vending machine that sells miniature works of art is just one of the attractions at a San Luis Obispo County store celebrating love, marriage and friendship.
The Love Story Project will unveil the Art-o-mat — SLO County’s second — on Saturday as the store celebrates its move to a new, larger location in Cambria.
In late February, Love Story Project owners Alan and Shari Fraser moved the shop from its original location at 734 Main St. to a new spot a half-block away at 766 Main St.
The former home to Teresa Belle Gallery, the wavy-shingled building is near West End Bar & Grill and across the street from the Cambria Coffee Roasting Company and the Cambria Chamber of Commerce office.
The Love Story Project is celebrating its eighth anniversary on the North Coast.
SLO County store moves to new location
As the name of their business implies, the Frasers are all about love.
Before opening The Love Story Project in 2015, the married couple ran Sonrisa Photography and “photographed hundreds of weddings over the years,” Shari Fraser wrote via email. “Combining a shared interest in storytelling from our backgrounds in film and cultural anthropology, we started recording people’s love stories in our Airstream Photo Booth, and opened our storefront in Cambria shortly after.”
The added square footage and loft inside The Love Story Project’s new home gives the Frasers more space to exhibit their eclectic stock of everything from hats and shirts to photos and signs.
They also sell modern art, quirky gifts and locally made crafts and goods, and offer same-day photo printing on metal, wood, tile and slate.
The Love Story Project has even hosted weddings in the shop, providing photos and video of the romantic events.
“We invite anyone to come in the story and tell any story in the theme of love story while we record it on video,” Shari Fraser wrote. “We then post the stories to our website. We have a really amazing collection of love stories from our customers.”
The Love Story Project will hold a grand reopening party at its new spot on Saturday and Sunday.
For adults, there’ll be a celebratory happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday night. A 10% discount will apply to everything in the store all weekend.
One feature of the party will be a “What’s in the Box?” reveal at 6 p.m. Saturday.
The party also will feature a free photo booth, a prize wheel and the launch of a two-month-long exhibition of the work of watercolor artist Tracy Taylor.
Taylor, who lives in San Luis Obispo, is well known for her artworks, including her partnership with sculptor Wyland.
“(Taylor) was actually my babysitter when I was a kid!” Alan Fraser wrote via email. “We found each other again through the (San Luis Obispo International Film Festival).”
In a “Watercolor painting with Tracy Taylor” video on her website, Taylor spoke about Fraser and The Love Story Project.
“They love eclectic things,” she said, “one of a kind, originals, oddities, videos, all about love and telling your love story.”
Art vending machine featured at Cambria shop
Fraser said he is looking forward to revealing the Art-o-mat, a retired cigarette vending machine that’s been repurposed to sell and dispense itty bitty creations.
Just slide a $5 token into the vending machine, and you’ll get back some original art — a painting, photograph, woodblock, jewelry or other tiny treasure.
Each artwork is about the same size as a pack of cigarettes.
According to the Art-o-mat website, inventor Clark Whittington created Art-o-mat in 1997 “with the primary goal of working with communities so anyone can affordably and habitually live with art.”
“We are dedicated to working with individual artists to create connections locally/nationally within our network and distribution process,” the company said on its website.
That mission has been covered by news outlets including Newsweek, ABC News and Southern Living magazine.
There are hundreds of Art-o-mat machines in use across the United States, Germany and Australia. That includes an art vending machine installed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2010.
“I just love the idea of the Art-o-mat as a really neat way to start your collection of art,” Georgina Goodlander, interpretive programs manager of the Smithsonian’s Luce Foundation Center for American Art, said at the time. “Maybe we’ll be creating some future collectors.”
With the addition of the machine at the Love Story Project, there are about a dozen Art-o-Mats in California, from Oceanside to Sacramento’s Crocker Art Museum.
First local Art-o-mat relocated
SLO County’s first Art-o-mat was originally installed at Farmhouse Corner Market near San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport. The restaurant and market closed about a year ago.
In 2021, that Art-o-mat was relocated to the offices of Downtown SLO, 1135 Chorro St. in San Luis Obispo, at the insistence of the nonprofit organization’s CEO, Bettina Swigger.
Swigger has loved the Art-o-mat concept since she first saw the company’s art vending machines years ago, she said.
“My sister was an Art-o-mat artist on the East Coast, selling her art through the machines,” she said.
When Farmhouse Corner Market shut up shop, Swigger got its art vending machine, which she said has been popular with visitors, staff and board members alike.”
More about The Love Story Project
The Love Story Project is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The shop is closed on Tuesday.
For details, call 805-464-1963, email info@thelovestoryproject.org or follow the business on Facebook.
