Godzilla x Tokidoki Black

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. Simone Legno is the creative director and co-founder of tokidoki. Born in Rome, Italy, Legno, drew incessantly as a child. The boxes of chewed, broken and unsharpened pencils he adored as a kid were the beginnings of a passion for art that led to the eventual creation of tokidoki, Legno’s online portfolio of the same name. tokidoki means “sometimes” in Japanese. Legno, who has always had a deep love of Japan and fascination with world cultures, chose the word because he feels “everyone waits for moments that change one’s destiny, by chance or by meeting a new person”. Simone's special moment arrived when his designs drew the attention of entrepreneurs Pooneh Mohajer and Ivan Arnold, who spied the art on his personal website and convinced him to move to L.A. to start up a dynamic new partnership with them. Simone has been a sought-after speaker around the world at museums, universities and conferences, from MOCA (the Geffen Museum-Los Angeles) to the Adobe MAX conference, UCLA, USC, the Flash Film Festival in San Francisco, Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome, Grafika Manila and many others. DesignerCon is an annual art and design convention that smashes together collectible toys, customs, plush, designer apparel and so much more with urban, underground and pop art! We are a celebration of all aspects from the world of design. Godzilla toys are a major part of kaiju (monster) culture and have been produced in various styles and forms since the 1950s. Inspired by Toho’s iconic Godzilla films, these toys range from simple children’s playthings to highly detailed collector’s items. The designs often capture Godzilla’s fearsome appearance, including his scaly skin, powerful tail, spiky dorsal fins, and atomic breath pose. Toho art toys are high-end designer collectibles inspired by Toho’s legendary kaiju franchise, including Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla. These toys often feature unique artistic interpretations, blending classic monster designs with modern and experimental aesthetics. Soft vinyl (sofubi) figures are a staple of kaiju collectibles, often hand-painted and produced in limited runs by brands like Marusan, Medicom Toy, and M1GO. These figures frequently showcase vibrant colorways, translucent elements, or glow-in-the-dark effects. Toho has worked with brands like Super7, Kidrobot, and BE@RBRICK, producing stylized versions of Godzilla and other kaiju, often in minimalist, graffiti, or streetwear-inspired styles. Companies like X-Plus, Spiral Studio, and Prime 1 Studio create ultra-detailed, limited-edition resin statues that reinterpret Godzilla and other kaiju in artistic, sometimes surreal ways. Some art toy brands produce exaggerated, cute, or surreal versions of Toho monsters, playing with proportions, expressions, and vibrant colors to give a fresh take on classic kaiju.