(A Skater Mistake? Michael Lau’s Gardener series)

Subject: The First ArT Toy… or a Skater’s Mistake?

Tittle: When Michael Lau’s Gardener Left Collectors Asking: “What Is This?”

Subtitle: Before ArT Toys had a name, they had confusion.

1999, Hong Kong. The first figures from Michael Lau’s Gardener series hit the scene.

It’s raw. It’s fresh. It’s something completely new.

Streetwear. Hip-hop. Skate culture. All molded in vinyl.
But there was just one problem…

Nobody knew what they were.

Early buyers picked them up and thought:
👉 “Are these miniature skate accessories?”
👉 “Are they action figures for an upcoming comic series?”
👉 “I don’t know what this is, but I need it.”

Even Michael Lau himself admitted:
👉 “I just wanted to create figures that fit my world.”

And that’s what Gardener was.
Not toys. Not sculptures. A Movement.

At first, collectors didn’t understand them.
But they knew they wanted them.

Gardener didn’t follow an existing category.
It created one.

And today? It’s considered the blueprint for modern ArT Toys.

💬 What do You think? Were ArT Toys already a thing before Gardener?

📍 Join the debate → [HERE]

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