Cocoa and Milk BG Bear

Kohei Ogawa is a Japanese artist renowned for his whimsical and endearing creations that span illustrations, needle-felted dolls, paintings, and sculptures. After graduating from Asagaya College of Art in 1997, Ogawa embarked on a career as a freelance illustrator, producing work for advertising agencies, publishers, and television programs.   In 2013, Ogawa introduced the “Green Cow Garden” series, a collection of handmade needle-felted dolls featuring anthropomorphized animals and fantastical creatures. This series garnered significant attention and became a hallmark of his artistic identity.  Expanding his artistic repertoire, Ogawa collaborated with Hong Kong-based art toy producer How2Work starting in 2017. Together, they developed various figure projects, including the “Naughty Boy” series, the “BG Bear” series, and a blind-boxed mini-figure line based on the “Green Cow Garden” characters Self-produced art toys are designer collectibles created and manufactured independently by the artist or small teams without the backing of a large toy company or mass-market brand. These toys are often highly personal, artistic expressions and are usually made in limited runs. Key Characteristics include independent creation where the artist is in control of the entire process from concept, sculpting, and painting to production and packaging. These are usually made in small batches, often 10–100 pieces, which adds to their rarity, made using materials like resin, sofubi (Japanese soft vinyl), or 3D-printed components.