Dollism USA Dollism Plus USA presented by DoA, DollHeart & MoC Sept 19-21, 2014

That was how I spotted you, but I was sitting at my booth, so at the perfect level, haha. Having the avatar on there really helped!

 

That's awesome! People who don't know me from Eve will recognize Kaiya's face across the room.

I can't say how cool my boys look in the clothes & hats & pants we bought from you-- I know this wasn't the first time I've bought clothes from you but it was the first time in person, so that added an extra weight of coolness. (PS. Next time I want one of those acid-green star-patterned cardigans in my size...)

 

I'm pretty horrible with faces and names, but give me an avatar and I've got it! And that's what everyone was saying about that cardigan. I'm almost tempted to do it!

 

Do it, man. I give you moneys. Ladies' size 9-Long.

 

I had a wonderful time! Thank you to all the organizers and volunteers!

I am curious who won the contests? I could not hear the announcer at the party - and it was by number? So is there a picture of the winners?

 

Had a great time at Dollism! I was one of the volunteers guarding the vendors room late Friday night and sat afternoon. I had my Luts SSDF "guarding" the entrance with me
Everyone was really nice and it was great meeting and talking to everyone at the entrance! Didn't get many names sadly...

Looking forward to 2016!

 

I am wondering that too! Is there a line-up of the winnners' names somewhere?.... The PA wasn't too good in the hotel atrium, and my hearing is worse. I would've liked to see a recap of who won all the fashion/faceup contests, as well as the individual raffle winners.

 

I wrote my name on my badge too, but it doesn't help much when it's down by your navel!

That was confusing, wasn't it? I couldn't associate the winning numbers with the entries. I'd love to see the winners posted at the Dollism photo thread (if they haven't been posted there already).

Linda S.
galatia9

 

The only complaint I have is that by the time I got up to the dessert buffet everything was picked over, and there weren't any frappuccinos left. I saw people taking full plates of spring rolls away, walking around with multiple bottles of frappuccinos, and several plates full of sweets. I didn't get to enjoy any of the things that had been listed that I was looking forward to. The hotel should of had better catering so this didn't happen, i.e. someone handing out drinks and supervising the tables better. I haven't seen anyone else comment about this, so I thought I would put this info out there for the mods. It really was selfish and unfair that not everyone was through the line yet and most of the food and drinks were gone.

 

I agree! I was waiting in the line, but since they were announcing winning numbers, I couldn't hear them when I was in the covered buffet area, so I went back to my table. By the time announcements were over and I went back for sweets, the Frappucinos were gone and the dark chocolate things were all gone too, except for the Godiva chocolate dip (which I didn't feel like diving into).

There was also no way to go through the dessert buffet line without waiting through the savory appetizers line. I tried to do that and it didn't work!

Linda S.
galatia9

 

I admit I was one of those people that took a few drinks and a few plates of food. However, I split all the spoils of what I took with a group of girls. They were starved and exhausted from the day and the night before. So instead of 8 of us waiting in line that long line, about 3 of us waited in line. We each had a drink and something from the buffet. By no means was it a meal. I know when someone went back quite a bit later, there were still drinks and food.

 

Oh, someone brought back a plate of appetizers to share with everyone at our table too, so that's understandable. It just seemed like there wasn't enough for everyone. And the buffet lines could have been set up to have people go down both sides rather than just one side, and separate lines for sweet and savory would have helped too.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

Yeah, honestly there wasnt much left when I got down there! I didn't mind, since I was a bit late, but I was disappointed to see that some people near us abandoned nearly full plates of desserts because they'd taken way too much.

 

I was so exhausted that last thing I wanted to do was wait in line for desserts lol (they did look good though!)
I found a spot to sit down and my feet thanked me

 

It was definitely a bit of an awkward set up. I think part of it was the layout of the Atrium itself. Yes, it would have been good for 2 separate areas for the sweet and the another for the savoury. Maybe if the food had been in a Ball room where there wasn't so many tables and turns to navigate around? I guess things to look at if Dollism happens in the future. That's too bad that not everyone got something.

 

The Buffet was handled poorly by the hotel and I also felt like attendees weren't fair either. There quite a lot of people holding seats for people who didn't stand in line and it really should have been a first come, first seat. My friend and I were in line for a long time and because we couldn't sit our butts in a seat fast enough every table we went had people holding seats. And it wasn't that some people were in the buffet line and their friends were holding seats, no these were people who weren't in line at all and just strolled down when they wanted to. Sorry if it's a rant but I was really upset that the only thing I could do was sit at the bar and I got no dessert at all.

 

Man, I didn't even notice that there were non-sweet foods.... I saw spring rolls there, but didn't take them because I assumed they weren't part of our dessert buffet & therefore must have been someone else's. I guess my logic circuits got scrambled by waiting in one line that turned into 3 lines and sort of wandered in a figure 8 pattern.

 

I have to agree, the cocktails were better than the petits fours anyway. ^^

So there was a reunion being held in our space, too? - That would explain the lack of seating.

 

Don't forget the drunken wedding party lol!

 

Part of my group got there a bit late, I totally thought it was "seat yourself". We had a table on the outskirts on the bar level and waited in line to get that, and another group of my friends ended up on the mezzanine level by the piano.

400 petit fours and 400 cheesecake squares? No wonder there was nothing by cookies and fruit left. o_O Though a friend gave me a petit four back at our table, and the marshmallow crispy squares were good. Still, a marshmallow crispy square is one CHEAP dessert, LOL!!

Which one?? LOL!!

I don't mean for this to be a bash fest, I had a great time at Dollism except for that part of the dessert buffet and one other unrelated-to-Dollism occurrence, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. The company was exemplary! I didn't have one negative experience with another convention attendee or staff, everyone was great.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

Having done a ton of desert parties at convention hotels... I'm afraid, if one wants the good stuff - get there early. All the parties I've been to, the good stuff goes fast, and you're down to cookies and chips and fruit for the stragglers. Doesn't matter the hotel, they always seem to underplan for fans who've probably skipped dinner due to other events which run right up to the party, so are very hungry.

I think hotels plan for like fancy exec or maybe wedding types, who don't seem to just eat the desert party down to cookies. Fans.. well.. we do.

 

The dessert line wasn't the best but I did at least manage to get 4 petit fours and a spring roll. I also wish there was a place or list or something we could access to see the winners of the raffles and contests.

But overall, I had such a fantastic time at Dollism. Everybody I came across and chatted with was SO friendly and nice that it was an incredible unforgettable experience. Even my husband and friends who aren't into dolls had fun and kept mentioning how awesome everybody was. I met so many people but I could only remember two by their DoA IDs and I forgot to even write my DoA ID on my badge. I can't wait for Dollism in 2016!

 

I couldn't eat much at the dessert party. I'm celiac and nothing was marked gluten free. The servers were too busy to help me sort it out. It's always kind of awkward not being able to eat much, or anything, but I landed at such a fabulous table with such cool people that it was easy not to think about! I risked a couple of things, though.

EssieID I'm thrilled to hear that your non-doll pals felt included and embraced by the dolly crowd! I always feel like the way that bjd fans go about their particular hobby sort of encourages an inclusive spirit. I think it may have to do with the extremity we sometimes have to go through for the dolls -- having to save up and order them, often from overseas, and wait, or wait for just the right outfit, or toil to get the right eyes, et cetera -- it would make some people wonder why we do it! But I think it builds a patient and determined character, and that we kind of learn to accept other people's favourite 'geeks' because we know it's hard to thrive in our own sometimes. It's a good lesson to learn, how to be warm, kind, and welcoming to others! <g>

 

Regarding the buffet we arrived once the line had become quite long and personally I can't handle standing in one place for too long without pain so I decided against joining the line for the buffet. It's my responsibility to speak up when I'm having mobility concerns, but I thought it's worth mentioning that I know of at least 3 of us (myself and 2 other DN volunteers) who did not grab anything from the buffet.

We weren't too heart broken over missing out, but we were starving so we ended up ordering delivery from la nova that was DELICIOUS. We had some delicious wings and asian sesame chicken bites I was super happy with.

The only thing I wished for was an opportunity to purchase raffle tickets before the drawing since it happened a little while after the buffet began, I personally did not have a chance to step away and buy tickets on Saturday and I really, really regretted not fitting it into my busy Saturday schedule.

It also would have been cool to have the winners of the contests left on display for a part of Sunday in the voting area so we could have had a chance to take their pictures and know which contestants were the winners.

 

A list of the winners of the contests would be great!

I was at the dessert buffet, but we couldn't really hear anything where we sat... And even if we did, I couldn't remember which number went with which entry. I hope people who won will post pictures!

---

We took advantage of armeleia's fantastic offer to make a Wings run and had those before the dessert buffet. We got down there when the line was pretty long and seats were filled--but managed to get some of petit fours and cheesecake squares. We skipped getting anything savory since we'd had wings. I didn't see any frappucinos, though! --we found some seats in the back where the buffet tables were. Two people had left and we got their seats. If not, we'd probably have been out of luck as far as finding a place to sit. But it was cool. And yeah, things DO tend to run out at such events. Or at least, certain things run out. The marshmallow crispy bars were being brought out right after we went through the lines...

 

I didn't take any pictures during the raffle when I won, I didn't want them accounting another number
But since some have asked, I was extremelylucky and won a Dollzone Virgil Head and a Dollmore open-eyed Pado Charmant ^-^

I have pictures of the actual prizes here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/45302301@N05/

I too had trouble hearing, all I could understand where the numbers being called. Both times I got up not knowing what on earth I had won.

 

I couldn't eat any of the chocolate at the desert buffet as I have a lethal hazelnut/filbert allergy and I know Godiva chocolate uses hazelnuts (whole/paste/powder) in their formulation. Most high end chocolates do as hazelnuts enhance the flavour of chocolates so I typically know to avoid those *sigh*. If the description of the chocolate fondue hadn't specifically listed the chocolate as Godiva, I'd have had some and it takes as little as 2 whole hazelnuts to send me into anaphylatic shock that requires immediate medical attention or I die. I also cannot use an Epipen safely (it may cause me to go into cardiac arrest) due to a defective heart valve.

While I understand that there were a large number of attendees and that I am responsible for monitoring what I eat to avoid courting death, there was a thing that I filled out regards food allergies and I put on there that I had a fatal allergy to hazelnuts/filberts. But there was nothing posted anywhere about there being nuts of any kind in the chocolate offerings. I had to email the organizers to ask about the other chocolate offerings and only found out that way that the rest of the chocolate in the other deserts was Godiva as well. I wouldn't dream of demanding that all the chocolate be changed to accommodate me as that's not fair to those without allergies, but some sort of warning for nut content should've been posted to the board/con page, especially since I'd stated months ahead that I will die if I eat my trigger food.

 

I also would like to see a list of who won the contests! My friends and I left during that portion, once we realized we didn't know any of the entries by number, and that there would be a rush on the elevators if we waited until everything was over. None of us got very much at the buffet, though my friend did bring a plate with a couple petit fours and a frappuccino for me. I also had eaten my fill of wings from armeleia's order and was too full to fight it out in the line!

We managed to snag a bench to sit at (no table) and were right up in front where the announcements were very loud. I was lucky enough to win the extremely adorable set of 5 Angell-Studio little animals in the raffle! I've been having fun putting them on my dolls' shoulders and heads, and the fullset Switch Waseon I bought on Saturday has adopted one of them as his pet. (There are pictures of them scattered throughout my Dollism pics over on my flickr!)

 

What the what? There were marshmallow krispy squares? Arrgh, so I must've gone too early & they weren't out yet! Now THOSE I would have eaten. You could serve marshmallow krispy squares at the freakin White House. They are the holy substance. Sorry I missed out on both them and the wings. I would've had to have chicken wings as dessert, anyway... I had dinner at that steakhouse in the hotel beforehand, and that was some serious sustenance. Steak very good. Cavegirl love meat.

Now I will have to fly back to Buffalo just to try the wings. :3 I did get them in snowglobe form, however.

 

I kept getting really decent wings from the hotel that I could not finish due to timing/working...
I did get a bottle of the Anchor Bar wing sauce as a gift from my roomie...we had it last night and it was really good.

 

JennyNemisis, your Wings-in-the-Snow snowglobe is MADE OF AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You almost feel sorry for those poor wings...left...to die...alone....in the snow.

 

Dang it, KB, your tribute made me sniffle. JennyN, I loved that steakhouse place too. Nothing like a good hunk of meat to satisfy the stomach.

Hoping for name tag ID next time also. Would have like to identify more folks.

 

Oh hi hi hi all you lovely wonderful dolly people! I'm finally human enough to poke my head back in here post-Dollism! (I got back right in the middle of a tech conference that my husband organizes each year....oy! Out of the frying pan into the fire!)

So

1. a HUGE thank you to the moderators & organizers of Dollism. Wow. Wow. Wow! What a wonderful experience. Thank you for all your sleepless nights and bloodshot eyes and frustrating planning/sorting/solving! It was...amazing.

2. Another massive thank you to my roommates who came in early on Wednesday and spent two whole days building the magical paper room: @Raesha, @PrincessTomato, and @Teleri. Love you guys, and could not have done this without you...or your papercuts. Or your glue burns. Or christmas lights in the eyes.

3. And thank you thank you thank you to everyone who came out and saw the room & stop motion film, who wore our little paper feathers, who helped spread the word. Especially thank you to the dead-tired crew who came on Sunday--@[URL="http://www.denofangels.com/forums/member.php?2592-St-James"]St. James[/URL] & @idrisfynn . @armeleia & @VampireAngel13. Nalisinko. It was a wonderful experience to meet you all in person (finally!) and share it with you! Especially especially, thank you to @GardenofEdenBJD (Sorry, I had to link to a YouTube channel--I never got your DoA name!), who actually dressed in birding attire for the event (!!!) and hugged Frances and cried through the video. You and your mother made all the work worthwhile. Truly. It was an honor.

4. And speaking of honors, I had the great honor of winning a cheeky little Doll Family A fellow in the Tiny Triathlon. Does anybody know to whom I should address my thanks? Or how I can go about finding that information?

5. @armeleia, I have your photos, and need to process them....Wanted to know if it was okay if I share a link to the impromptu DollHeart-Fer-in-the-paper-forest stop motion that we made? Also, the hunt for a body for your Peabody head is underway! So so excited, and thank you again!

6. And about the next DP US....I would love to help organize a film festival of some sorts. Stop motion mainly, possibly photostories...something along those lines. Either a room-to-room festival running concurrently with roomsales or an actual panel/event thing. I don't know if that's possible, or on-topic for this thread, or if non-moderators are even allowed to help organize. Just thought I'd throw that out there. 'Cause I'm a wee bit nutty about dolly story-telling, in case you hadn't noticed

Cheers!

 

@MissEmily, I didn't get to see the stop-motion film... do you have it posted anywhere?
I made it to the room sales, but somehow managed to leave without seeing the film. Maybe didn't hear what was going on. Was very very jetlagged.

Aww, heehee! Don't fret, I'm sure the snow-wings got eaten up in short order-- buffalo wings are just as good cold as hot. At least I think so. :

I'm silly-- I saw that whole scene as these gigantic mutant chicken-wing overlords, strutting their stuff in front of that tiny lighthouse & city skyline, impervious to Buffalo's famously cruel winter weather. The wings are firmly In Charge!! Because I mean, look at the size of those things compared to the lighthouse. xD I have a whole collection of weird/wtf snowglobes, and this one's near the top of the pantheon.

 

Yes! Soon! I will post the stop motion to my you tube channel and the photostory thread, right after I have a showing here at home... So week and a half? Two weeks?

 

Cool! I will keep an eye out for it. :>

 

[MENTION=1759]galatia9[/MENTION], it was 400 servings of each thing, not 400 of each thing.... So there should have been more than enough. I was at the very end of the line because I was circulating to make sure everyone was doing alright... And I didn't get much of anything.

I agree that the hotel set it up poorly! It wasn't what they told us... and we were supposed to have that upper seating area where that reunion was happening. They were also supposed to have provided labels with allergens... They told me they would print them up. Lindsey's vegan and I have a wheat allergy, so I definitely understand wanting to know what's in stuff! My apologies for the unlabeled offerings - unfortunately I didn't get down there prior to set-up to be able to make sure it was all set.
[MENTION=57662]MissEmily[/MENTION], feel free to post whatever you like. I wish I'd worn my wig for that! . Please do post pics of Peabody when you name him/her and get a body!

 

I just wanted to put my 2 cents in and say what a great time we had at Dollism. It was fun meeting everyone and seeing so many amazing dolls in one place. This was my first convention and it was pretty overwhelming, in such a good way. I didn't get to talk to or meet nearly as many people as I wanted to though. The creativity and talent of everyone there was mind blowing! The people in this hobby are such an inspiration and just wonderful people overall.

Most of my pics did not come out that well. I don't know whether it was that lighting in the vendor room or maybe my camera just got a little water logged at Niagara the day before, but what did come out somewhat decent I posted in the photos thread. Thank you to the others who shared their pics as well. So many people did take some amazing shots.

I want to say thank you to the organizers and everyone who was involved in putting this all together and making it such a great experience. All of your hard work and time is greatly appreciated.

 

This being my first doll convention and my second ever convention I had a great time. I was nervous because my dolly friend from here in MT couldn't come and I was worried I wouldn't find people to talk to. Boy was I wrong, there were so many wonderful friendly people! I was even able to get my boyfriend his fist doll at the swap meet! I wish I had taken more pictures, but it was such an exciting environment and there were so many friendly people. Well worth the drive, also because we drove we got to see so many exciting places! So I gave my most heartfelt thanks to everyone who worked so had to put this on!

I didn't mind the hotel, and I wish I had realized they had a pool sooner. There food was way overpriced, we ordered an omelet for breakfast one morning with juice and the bill was like $30 for a small breakfast. Also while talking to other con members I said I wished my hotel room had a mini fridge, and I heard other people say the same. It wasn't until I was checking out that I was informed my room had a mini fridge, hidden in the dresser. Oh well live and learn.

Despite the troubles I am so excited for the next Dollism Plus and I plan on going again wherever it may be! I am so glad I got to meet so many wonderful people! Also pictures in my flicker https://www.flickr.com/photos/111603693@N05/sets/72157648054868891/

 

http://s115.photobucket.com/user/Ebonysage/library/Dollism 2014?sort=4&page=1

My Dollism pics!

 

There was actually an a la carte menu for breakfast, but you had to ask for it! I found out about it from a friend.

I was just going by what idrisfynn mentioned here in post #798. I'm sorry you didn't get much of anything, I guess you had to be really early to get the best pickin's! Thanks for looking out for everyone! You couldn't be everywhere at once.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

I feel like I'm a little late joining the party, but I had to stop by to say thank you to everyone that made Dollism possible. I had a wonderful time Saturday roaming through the vendors hall, scoping out all the contest entries and taking some photos in the different sets. It was nice to be able to actually attend a con as a general con-goer for once; usually I'm behind a table all weekend at these sort of things. :P

I missed Miss Emily's video showing altogether! I would have loved to see it, but I didn't even know it was happening! I do hope you post it soon for those of us who didn't get a chance to see it.

Room sales were interesting as well. I've never been to a convention that did this, but I did find it a little weird that they were all over the place. I suspect this is the hotel's fault for not putting people all in a 'block', and I think it would have been much better that way instead of having to walk up many flights of stairs because room sales were scattered all over on floors 5-11. :P

I also wanted to thank everyone who voted for my entry into the Costume Contest on Saturday. I was floored when I heard I'd won second place - the competition was incredibly tight, and everyone's entries looked absolutely amazing. I still can't believe I won something, let alone second place; so thank you all who voted for my entry.

Here is a quick phone picture I took of my entry. I plan on taking better photos of her in the costume sometime soon. My costume was based off of the song "The Rains of Castamere" from Game of Thrones, and was heavily inspired by the Lannister colors, symbols, motto and Cersei's overall 'look' from the show. I even found a wig that kind of made my doll even look a bit like Cersei!




Regarding the dessert buffet: I will agree with others that it was handled a bit poorly from the hotel. I got in the lineup at about 7:50 just so I could find a seat, but by the time I got in they were all taken, and I wasn't even that far back in the line. Although I was able to snag a few small items (mostly fruit), it was frustrating to try to get around tonnes of people who didn't know where the lines started or ended, or people (also like me) hopelessly looking for a spot to sit. One of the hotel staff told me to go upstairs to the seating area up there, so I did - only to be chewed out by another hotel staff that informed me a reunion was taking place there. Eventually a friend and I managed to grab a seat on the upper balcony looking down on the atrium, but the biggest downsize to this was that we couldn't hear a thing. It all sounded like Charlie Brown's Teacher! In the end we both had a good time chatting to ourselves in between the raffle prizes, but I think overall the hotel grossly underestimated the attendance for this event. I guess it's something to learn for next time, right?

And lastly, my Husband wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has been relaying some lovely comments about the Doll North ramen set. He built the set himself this past spring for the DN convention that we were staff for, and he's glad that so many people have gotten to enjoy it. He put a lot of blood, sweat, tears and love into that set (over three months worth!), and he appreciates everyone's entusiasm and love for his work.

I'm very much looking forward to Dollism in 2016, and I hope it's even bigger and better than this year's event! It was great getting to see familiar and new faces and meet some really lovely people over the weekend. I can't wait to do it again!

 

Elzaim, your entry was gorgeous!

I noticed a lot of people have mentioned they were disappointed/confused about the room sales and the hotel block being spread out all over the hotel... but I think it's pretty much impossible for the hotel to keep everyone together, because there are always non-convention guests already booked for rooms. Plus some of the convention attendees reserved right away, and others waited until the last possible minute.

I attended Dollism with 7 or 8 friends, and somehow we all ended up on the 5th floor! I am not sure if we all reserved at the same time or not.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

Ah, Elzaim, I don't think we ran into each other over the weekend (which makes me a bit sad), but I assumed you were there because of the ramen set. Kudos to your husband for making such an amazing set! And thank you for sharing your contest entry with us; it's awesome!

 

That set was awesome! Only one of my crew I brought that was more in scale for it was left out, lol! I did use minis in there too.

I had a blast but only think I know of a small handful I met. Kinda sad lol.

 

We're so greatful to Elzaim and her husband for all of the hard work that went into crafting the Ramen Set for Doll North. It's received so much love from BJD fans around the world we wanted to do our best to share it with some new fans by bringing it to Dollism

Here is a link to her husband's wood working page for those interested in following him: https://www.facebook.com/craigschriverwoodworking?ref=br_tf

I think he's open to commission work, so Dollism or BJD fans could most likely contact him for custom work.

 

Attendees and volunteers survey! It took us a while but here it is. Vendors' survey will be given to vendors later this week. In 2015 we will post another survey for those who are interested in attend the next Dollism

http://mintoncardinc.com/survey/attendee_survey.html

 

yay...did the survey though it would be cool if there were a comment section. I would have loved to have added all the positive things that I enjoyed about Dollism.

 

Nice that there is a survey. I've noticed a few cons starting to do that, but I've been going to cons for decades and it's a rare thing--and nice!

Food ingredients. I understand it's hard to list them all, but in the case of deathly allergies, I'd think the company wouldn't want to have someone die on them, no matter how often they tend to drop the ball on other things...!

I actually hoped there was no one on my flight with deadly peanut allergies as I opened my little bag...!

MissEmily's room was a thing of beauty! It was definitely NOT to be missed. At least the film will hopefully be available for viewing soon.

Room sales were kind of fun. I didn't even think I was going to do it, but I loved being super-lazy and hanging out in my room while I got a little bit of spending money for the Vendor's room.
The sales were GREAT for bargains and for getting interesting odds and ends. I'd have loved to have had that available when I was first putting together my dolls' wardrobes. So many cool things for sale!

I liked the hotel. It was easy to get around. For room sales, maybe some of the rooms stuck at the ends had it hard, but it wasn't hard getting to different floors (I used the stairs sometimes), and going back to the room to drop off stuff, etc. Loved the mini-fridge. I thought it was comfortable and the rooms were very nice. LOVED the internet, too. That was very nice of the organizers to include!

The food around the hotel was great. Thanks for folks recommending the Coffee Spot place. We tried it the last morning and they had Paula's doughnuts--so it was a win! Went to Starbuck's before that, since we knew what we were getting there. The pizza place had excellent pizzas! We did that Friday night. Sunday night was a bit harder to find food--we ended up at TGI Fridays, which was fine. Everything was in easy walking distance and easy to find.

We did the ala carte hotel breakfast Saturday morning, which was perfect. Nice and early and we could finish getting ready for the line waiting for the Vendor's Room in good time. I wish I could have tried the Steak restaurant, but had the surf and turf at TGIFridays, so that was good enough for my carnivore-fix.

It was weird having the hotel shut down the room-sales, but I can sort of understand it (although I disliked the AWFUL jerks who complained about it. I guess dolly folk seem to threaten some people! Unlike all the people carrying buckets of booze in the elevators and leaving trash around--who were NOT doll-folks!). I've been to cons that had rowdy room-parties all night long--they arranged to have them on certain floors only, though. But usually non-con people aren't quite that intolerant of others in my experience. Oh, well!

I liked the impromptu Mezzanine Night Market that occurred after room sales were closed, though! --Maybe there could be room sales on Friday and then most of that moved to the Swap Meet on Saturday--and just extend that for however long people want??

Anyway, I had a fantastic time. I thought it all went off very well, particularly for a first con. The mix of vendors was very good. Contests were interesting. Panels--good. I didn't have time to do them, however, but that's good since it means there was a lot going on and different things for different people and all that. Kudos to everyone!

 

I'm dying of laughter!!!

 

I'm sorry I haven't replied sooner, but things have been so busy after the convention. I can say that -- as an attendee -- I loved Dollism! Getting to meet other doll hobbyists and feeling like a "normal" person for a weekend was incredible. I only ever get to feel that way at conventions, where I'm surrounded by like-minded, like-hobbyed people.

I'm used to going to huge conventions like Anime Expo and Fan Expo, so a smaller convention was a really nice change. Booth sizes were nice, the layout was traversible with plenty of aisle width, dealers were organized, and there weren't awkward things like excess wires to trip over. The workshops were great and a lot of fun to attend, though I wish they had been spread out into Sunday so we could have more time in the vendor hall. It was so much fun to interact with the vendors, too, especially Peak's Woods! The Room Sales were a blast, but perhaps next time they can be planned to be held in a big area (like the Swap Meet room) after 9pm so no one would get in trouble. I absolutely loved the photo shoot areas! I didn't have enough time to truly utilize them as much as I wanted to due to time constraints, but I got a couple really lovely shots. The contests were so cool, and I couldn't believe that the face-up contest dolls were all the same sculpt! I feel this whole convention was packed full of talent in that aspect.

I went to the dessert buffet and mostly grabbed a couple cookies and pieces of cake, as there were no petit fours left. To my dismay, seating was all expended, so my friend and I found a table by the escalator. We could hardly hear anything, but that was alright. To my dismay, whoever had sat at the table before us had taken a small bite of each of their petit fours, then left them there on the plate. I took the rest of my desserts up to my room for my daughter and husband, who enjoyed them.

I am very grateful that my daughter, who turned two at the convention on Sunday, was allowed to come. It was really cute to see her wanting to be carried all the time while she was in the vendor room. She usually wants to walk by herself. I fully believe that it was because she saw everyone carrying around their "babies" (she calls my dolls "babies") and wanted to be displayed as proudly and lovingly as their dolls. My husband reported that a few people seemed surprised when she moved, possibly because they thought she was a doll. Even for not being a doll hobbyist, my husband had a nice time.

The one negative regarding the hotel was that we had room service for food and my husband spent the night vomitting in the bathroom. He had mentioned his tomatoes had tasted funny, like bleach, previous to this. We mentioned it to the hotel and they apologized.

Buffalo was a good location, but I feel Rochester would have been even better regarding things-to-do. As someone who lives in Rochester, I'm a little biased, though. We still have delicious wings and serious pizza here! The ROC airport is also nice, very easy to access. There were a couple craft shows going on during the weekend that would have been fun to attend, also.

Meeting my friend from Hong Kong was possibly the best thing of all, though, and without everyone's efforts, this wouldn't have been possible. She is much of the reason that I came into BJDs, because she provided me with so much vital information and lead me to this very site.

I went to the con with four dolls, I came home with TEN (three Peak's Woods girls (plus I pre-ordered one), a Doll Factory Pet Ari for my daughter, and two Spirit Dolls.). I also got lots of shoes, a couple outfits, wigs, and a few new friends, to boot!!

Thank you so much to everyone who made Dollism Plus USA possible!! I adore you, and look forward to seeing you in 2016!

 

I agree with Kitty Blue - I wish there was a general comments section at the end of the survey. Is that something that's possible to add?

I just want to add here that although I visited a few rooms for the room sales, and that it was an interesting experience, the demand for an "Artists Alley' or similar space was obviously in very high demand. I ventured into the Swap meet room shortly after it opened and it was so incredibly crowded that I turned back around and left. Even an hour later it was still very busy!

Since I didn't stay at the hotel, room sales were out of the question for me, and even so - I'm not the kind of individual that would want to have my room open to the general public for hours and hours. I like my privacy, I guess. :/

As an artisan myself, I'd love to have a chance to sell my wares at a table like the vendors. Perhaps there can be another sectioned-off area for an 'Artist Alley' where small artisan shops can sell alongside the big vendors, and people selling items 'garage sale' style can still do Room Sales?



*edit*

It was brought to my attention via a friend that there were a bunch of small artisans mixed together with the big vendors in the vendor hall. So, to better describe my reasoning above, here's my suggestion for the next Dollism:

I think there should be TWO vendor areas - an 'Artist Alley' for small artisan shops where the table prices are significantly lower that caters to people who make their own brand of doll goods and services, and a 'Vendor's Hall' with all the large companies selling their dolls, clothing, accessories and whatnot.

Just from my observations walking around the Vendor's market on Saturday and Sunday, it felt that some of the lesser-known and smaller sellers were not getting the attention they deserved compared to the large and more well-known companies around them. I think it would be better to have two different areas to give everyone A.) More options for basic things like wigs, clothing, accessories, etc for their dolls other than 'company' products, B.) More attention and hobby acknowledgement to lesser-known shops alongside the bigger-named companies, and C.) A larger area for people to browse so that everyone isn't all crowded into one or two spots inside the marketplace.

 

VuDu: Wahaa! I really wanted to meet you! I recognized your lovely Bernard in my class and was going to make it a point to meet you but I spaced out at the end and forgot hopefully next time!

 

As a small vendor, I have to say that I actually did really, really well, even in the back row facing the wall, haha. I don't speak for everyone, of course. I do agree that having a small artist/vendor space would open up variety a lot though. I had a lot of people coming to me because they couldn't find boy clothes anywhere else, for example. Outside of anime conventions, the booth price for Dollism really wasn't outrageous, but I can see why it scared small vendors off, especially if you have overheads like shipping product or airfare. I had initially balked at the idea of a room sale, but after seeing the sales in action, I really love the idea and would definitely want to try it next time!

 

Room sales were so much fun! I also enjoyed having the small vendors mixed in with the big vendors on the sales floor, rather than stuck off in a separate space. Maybe the answer for small vendors would be optional booth sizes-- bigger, more expensive booths vs. smaller cheaper booths.

 

OMG YOU WERE ONE OF THE FEW VENDORS WITH ANY BOY CLOTHES AT ALL in that entire frills-and-bows-stuffed dealers' room! *glomp* I didn't want to leave your booth!

Seriously, the preponderance of girls-and-babies fluff meant that I didn't have to spend much money at all, because there was just nothing to buy. Had way better luck finding boy clothes at the room-sales and swap-meet. Got to eat at a fancy wine-bar with the money I saved not-buying in the dealers' room.