We didn’t lose our inner child. We turned it into ArT Toys and More...with purpose.
A Skater Mistake? Michael Lau’s Gardener series
The First ArT Toy… or a Skater’s Mistake? The ArT Toy That Confused Everyone: Michael Lau’s Gardener series...ArT Toy Newsletter by Art Toy Gama #00004
ART TOY NEWSLETTER
Sergio Pampliega Campo & Cristina A. del Chicca
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?
Read also here in Linkedin: "The First Art Toy Didn’t Make Sense. That’s Why It Worked."
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This email was originally sent to the Newsletter subscriber list on March 25, 2025
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