Put in £1. Turn the handle. See what comes out.
A retired arcade machine transformed into a miniature art gallery is coming to the I Love North Shields Vintage Market: Autumn Edition—and you will want to bring a pocketful of pound coins.
Meet Northern Sticker Machine, affectionately known as Goblin: a brilliantly orange, five-foot-tall vending machine filled with stickers, mini prints and zines created by independent local artists.
MEET THE WOMAN BEHIND THE MACHINE
Northern Sticker Machine is the creation of Theresa, a self-described “local lass who loves a good sticker” and the Creative Director of Eastend Foundry.
Eastend Foundry is an independent creative events company based around Ouseburn and NE6. Its programme includes intimate workshops, pop-ups and creative projects designed to encourage people to make, experiment and try something different.
“The idea for Goblin came from seeing a restored pink vending machine and deciding that I wanted one,” Theresa explains.
After a little research, she found a retired arcade vending machine and began imagining an entirely new future for it.
Rather than dispensing sweets or plastic toys, the old machine would distribute affordable pieces of art—and give local artists another way to place their work directly into people’s hands.
AN ART GALLERY ON WHEELS
Goblin was transformed into an interactive miniature art gallery on wheels and given its unmistakable orange glow-up by North East street artist Glenn Malpass.
Glenn is known for his colourful graffiti commissions and large-scale murals. His work includes a major piece created for the Forth Lane Urban Gallery in Newcastle city centre.
Once its transformation was complete, Goblin was welcomed into the family at Two by Two Brewery in Byker, where the machine can usually be found in its natural habitat.
Now it is leaving home for a day and heading to North Shields Fish Quay.
LOCAL ART FOR £1
Using Northern Sticker Machine couldn’t be simpler.
Insert £1, turn the handle and wait to discover what Goblin has selected for you.
Inside might be a sticker, a miniature print or an independently produced zine. The participating artists and collections are regularly rotated, which means the contents change and every turn offers a new surprise.
“The idea came about after speaking to a few local sticker artists,” says Theresa. “They loved it.”
There is no screen to scroll through and no way to select precisely what will appear. The surprise is part of the experience.
It is art collecting made playful, spontaneous and accessible—and a wonderfully unusual platform for emerging and independent North East artists.
SOMETHING OLD BECOMES SOMETHING NEW
For Theresa, bringing Goblin to the vintage market feels like a particularly good fit.
“I’m so excited to be part of the market. I love vintage markets—the idea that something old can become something new.”
That idea is captured perfectly by Northern Sticker Machine itself: an old arcade machine rescued, restored and given an entirely new creative purpose.
It is exactly the sort of unexpected discovery we love to find at a vintage market.
FIND GOBLIN AT THE AUTUMN MARKET
You can meet Theresa and try Northern Sticker Machine at the next I Love North Shields Vintage Market:
Sunday 25 October 2026
Vintage Market: 10am–4pm
Live music, food and Vintage Social until 7pm
Salt Market Social, North Shields Fish Quay
The Autumn Edition brings together more than 50 handpicked traders across two floors, with vintage clothing, records, antiques, collectables, art, jewellery, homeware and plenty more to discover.
Entry is free and everyone is welcome.
Remember to bring a £1 coin for Goblin—you never know what little piece of North East art might be waiting inside.
Discover more I Love North Shields events
FOLLOW AND DISCOVER MORE
- Follow Eastend Foundry on Instagram
- Explore Eastend Foundry’s upcoming events and workshops
- Visit Two by Two Brewery
- Explore I Love North Shields events
