Michael Lau

Who is Michael Lau?

Michael Lau is an artist from Hong Kong who is known for his illustration and designer toy figures. Lau is widely credited as the founder of the urban vinyl style within the designer toy movement. His work has had a significant effect on toy manufacturers, as well as street culture, including artists and musicians, throughout the world. His style is particularly influential to Asian and American hip-hop and skateboarding culture. Lau has won several awards for his work, including four from the Hong Kong-based Philippe Charriol Foundation.

Lau started his career by displaying his art in small galleries in Hong Kong, where Lau worked as a window display designer, before searching for employment in the advertising industry. In 1997, Lau was hired to illustrate the cover art for the Anodize electronic music album. In 1998, he began the Gardener comic strip in East Touch magazine for which he is best known for. The characters featured in this comic strip were the basis for his first series of vinyl collectible figures. In 1999, his work became popular enough to attract the attention of the Sony corporation, who exclusively distributed a selection of his Gardener pieces in Asia.