IKEA Art Event 2018 Designer Glass Figurines by Joe Ledbetter, Junko Mizuno, Michael Lau and More!

Today The Blot visited my local IKEA store to discover that the IKEA Art Event 2018 had hit Houston, Texas a few weeks earlier than advertised!!! The goal of this event is to “make art affordable for everyone while exploring the imaginative world connected to figurines.” For 2018’s Art event release, IKEA has teamed up with some of the biggest names in designer art toys – Joe Ledbetter, Junko Mizuno, Michael Lau, James Jarvis, Coarse, Nathan Jurevicius, Arkiv Vilmansa and Ludvig Löfgren – to create some amazing (and affordable) glass art figurines.

For the IKEA Art Event 2018, these eight artists were invited to the Målerås glass factory in southern Sweden to create contemporary glass figurines. Henrik Most, Creative Leader of this collection, explained, “we want to celebrate the amazing world of art collectibles and the imaginative universe connected to figurines, how they spark our fantasy, represent everyday and turn it upside down with fun and playfulness.”

While glass is a new material for many of the artists, IKEA was curious about how the different artists would apply their creativity, skill and knowledge to working with this unique substance. From a bunny to a, owl to fingers giving the peace sign, these detailed miniature glass sculptures have emerged from the imaginations of the contemporary urban artists. The IKEA Art Event 2018 will be available at all IKEA stores for a limited time for just $29.99 starting in April 2018 – but many stores already have these amazing designer glass figurines on store shelves now!

The IKEA Art Event 2018 Collection includes eight glass art multiples: a clear “Soul Toy” ghost by Michael Lau, a blue fox “Coarse” by Mark Landwehr and Sven Wasch, “Hira” by Arkiv Vilmansa, a green owl “Sutemos” by Nathan Jurevicius, the beautiful purple “Nocturnal” by Junko Mizuno, the “Evil Eye” by Ludvig Löfgren, a red “Bunny” by Joe Ledbetter, and a clear “Peace Sign” by James Jarvis.

Michael Lau x Mindstyle The Godfather Marionette White Tux Version

Here is also the first official picture released of the new white tuxedo The Godfather Marionette vinyl figure by Michael Lau (also known as The Godfather Marionette Version 2) produced by MINDstyle. I’m still not a fan of the marionette strings, I think they take away from the figure itself, but I do like how they’ve tied in The Godfather logo with this Art Toy Collectible version of Don Vito Corleone. To be honest, I was really worried what the different colorways of this figure might look like. Thankfully, Lau and MINDstyle decided not to do anything too outlandish and went simple and classic with their color variations of this classic movie character.


No news to report about this figure’s price or run size either. The Godfather Marionette Version 2 will probably have the same price point ($175) as the original The Godfather Marionette figure, but may have a smaller run size (a number like 150 or 200 perhaps?).

Michael Lau x Mindstyle The Godfather Classic Vinyl Figure

Here is the first official picture released of the new The Godfather Classic vinyl figure by Michael Lau produced by MINDstyle. While The Blot posted amateur shots of all of the upcoming The Godfather figures here, this photo blows mine away so I figured I’d still post about it. I actually like this version of Vito Corleone so much more than the marionette version. There’s no cat and no annoying strings anywhere to distract you from this amazing Lau version of Marlon Brando's Don Corleone. Plus the chair looks really comfy!


No news to report about The Godfather Classic’s price or run size, but I would imagine it will be comparable to OG The Godfather Marionette figure ($175 price, limited to 300 figures). Now if only this figure spoke, then I’d really be in heaven. Picture this 8” figure saying “What have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully?” It’d be legen…wait for it…dairy!

SDCC 09 - Upcoming Michael Lau x MINDstyle The Godfather Colorways

The Blot is almost finished recapping my San Diego Comic Con 2009 experience, but there are still a few more things I’ve got to talk about before I move on for good. One release I was really looking forward to at Comic-Con was Michael Lau’s The Godfather Marionette art toy collectible ("atc") vinyl figure. To be honest, I was planning on buying one before getting to San Diego, but once I saw the marionette figure in person I was turned off by the marionette strings and control bars.


Thankfully, MINDstyle unveiled rest of its The Godfather atc figures, which look pretty cool in person. My personal favorite is The Godfather classic version with chair, which is almost identical to the marionette version but without the marionette strings and cat. Also scheduled for release is a The Godfather Marionette figure in an all white tuxedo and, in a surprise announcement, a Horse Head figure which pays homage to one of the most famous scenes of all three The Godfather movies.




No word yet on when these other The Godfather art toy collectible figures will go on sale, but the OG The Godfather Marionette colorway is on sale now here at the Vinyl Pulse online store for the retail price of $175.

Michael Lau x Mindstyle The Godfather Marionette Vinyl Figure

The Blot is a HUGE fan of The Godfather movies, so when the news that Michael Lau, the godfather of urban vinyl, would be designing a Godfather vinyl figure first hit the internet I freaked out. I had all these different visions of what a Lau designed Marlon Brando vinyl figure would look like…and now we know. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Lau would go with a marionette theme, but it def works in tying in The Godfather logo with the image of Brando’s Vito Corleone.


The creation of this figure was made possible due to a licensing agreement between MINDstyle International and Paramount Pictures, and marks the launch of their new The Godfather art toy collectibles (ATC) line. In my opinion, the only downfall to this figure is the announcement that this figure will have two alternate limited edition colorways available from select retailers. How they could possibly feel a designer vinyl figure of Vito Corleone could possibly need additional colorways is beyond me! You just don’t mess with a classic.


This original version of The Godfather (with marionette) is packaged in a special limited edition collectors box and will launch at the “Family Tradition” art exhibition curated by Ron English in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 19th at De la Barracuda. The figure will also be available in extremely limited quantities at MINDstyle’s San Diego Comic Con booth #4545.


The Michael Lau x Mindstyle The Godfather Marionette Vinyl Figure is 8 inches tall (12 inches with the marionette attached) and has a limited run of 300 figures. The Godfather OG colorway is expected to retail for around $175.