Have you ever disliked a sculpt or company and then ended up falling in love with it?

Volks as a whole, but most specifically Chris/Lucas. My opinion of Volks changed when I saw Michele (who is my grail. Or was since I own him), but I was still very much not a fan of the School A family at all. Then one day I decided dreaming Lucas was ok. Then suddenly I owned Chris.
4 Volks dolls in I can't think of any of them I don't like now XD

 

I use to dislike any doll that didn't look completely human (i.e. No weird ears, horns, weird skintones) when I first got into this hobbie but now I really like those kind of dolls.

 

I used to have a strong dislike for the Dollshe Hound, but now I'm absolutely in love with him. I find myself wanting a CP El as well, and even a few Volks sculpts no longer look as boring as they appeared to me before. I think I'm growing fond of a lot of "old time" sculpts, maybe simply because I've been exposed to them during my first doll years, and have build up a lot of positive sentiment for them.

 

I can't think of any that I have "disliked" and then fallen in love with--I never cared much for CP/Luts/Fairyland, and I still don't, and I don't like most Iples for myself. There are many beautiful dolls from these companies and they are not for me, the way coconut-flavored things are not for me.

Looking at this thread, I think I'm one of these people in the camp of falling for "ugly" or "weird" dolls. I fell hard for DollZone and Doll Chateau both right from the start, my favorite Volks is Link (who has an unfortunate reputation due to poor company pics), and I could probably go on all night. ^^;

 

So many people have said Doll Chateau! I wish I could too, but I still really don't like them. When I was first learning about bjds, I really hated PeaksWoods. I hated the way place where their heads connected to their necks looked. Now it looks totally normal and I'm getting a Goldie this week. I also hated Volks dolls, I thought they were all so boring looking. Then I discovered that Volks face ups were not the best, and owner pics blew me away. NOW Volks has pretty face ups, but in 2008 when I was first looking, um, no. I actually own a Volks Rio and have a DearSD Nono on the way. And I have my eye on a girl that I found online! Sometimes it's really all about the face up!

 

I'm also not really a fan of Doll Chateau.

 

yes switch i hated them first then fell in love with cuz i didnt like the company face up but when i saw them with other faceup i loved them

 

Doll Chateau was the company I was hit or miss with. I think it's just depending on what faceup is on the doll, but I've seen some faceups that actually made me really want a DC doll of my own!

 

I always said I wouldn't buy an Iplehouse bc they're so stocky, and I like thinner, leaner dolls like DZ and DC, but during ON of the circus events they had a Pierrot who stole my heart and he still does. Even tho he's bigger than all his brothers I think of him as the big little brother who plays sports while the rest of my boys are mousey homebodies who make music, practice alchemy, and summon demons lol. He's so NORMAL he stands out so great, love him.

 

I first saw Granado Charles and thought he looked a bit homely. But then I keep looking at him... and something about him just grabbed me. He isn't traditionally good-looking and I kind of liked that. It was different and he had a lot of character. He ended up being my first doll from Granado... and I've since bought another and have a third doll on layaway. That latest one is a Michael. I wasn't that interested in him at first, either...!

 

I'm another Doll Chateau convert Especially hated their bony extra jointed limbs, but now I love them! I have no idea how this change of opinion happened either - very slowly, I even bought a midi on the k-07 body!

 

i hated Minifee chloes for the longest time. but until i got one i ended up liking them more

 

I wouldn't say 'dislike' so much as 'disinterest', but there were a couple of companies I had no real interest in when I first joined the hobby, until I saw better owner photos, or saw the dolls in person. Volks being one-- they still aren't one that I see myself buying from, but once I saw one of their dolls in person, I totally got the appeal, and I don't rule out being swayed by something from Volks in the future. And then I never really had any interest in Resinsoul based on the company photos, but... well, between owner pics and seeing some in person, the resin colors available, and the thrill of a non-limited centaur-type body, now I've gone and ordered one (and have added a bunch of their dolls to my overall wishlist to boot). Turns out it's pretty easy to convince me as long as you're not relying on company photos to do it!

I would say most companies I was indifferent about at first, I now like at least one sculpt from having spent more time in the hobby and having been able to see and sometimes handle more dolls.

 

I never hated Minifee Chloe,more that I didn't think I'd ever want one.
It had nothing to do with her popularity,I was just totally uninterested.

 

I'm doing this right now.... Doll Zone, and even more then that, Doll Chateau... I didn't like them, even thought some of them where ugly, now I MUST get one! ... maybe more!xD I'm absolutely in love with how different the dolls are, and while I hope to get some more generic styled dolls too, I'm going to be getting some of these ones in time!

The second doll I'm getting now is one I didn't think I would ever want. Now I can't even begin to imagine how i didn't love her to death right away! xD

 

Oh, totally! I spent years and years saying how unappealing I thought Volks Sasha was, boy's head on girl's body, disproportionate, weird-looking, that awful first-generation pureskin body with the notched knees, yadda yadda yadda. Guess who's the queen-empress of my dolly crew now? Yup.

 

It isn't my most disliked company by far, but I did feel a bit unimpressed by some of Impldoll's older sculpts when I first discovered them.

The scupts were too unrealistics: pouty huge lips and anime size eyes.

I did find myself admiring other aspects of the company. Unlike some of the other companies I stalked, Impldoll allows customers to purchase tan dolls non-exclusively and year-round (which I like for some variation in my dolls).

They also provide the option to order a custom resin color, which seemed to really support the creativity of their customers.

Furthermore, Impldoll understands joints--their dolls are super poseable and all joints I have seen add a lot of mobility.

So when Impldoll began to change styles to something more realistic--wrinkled lips, cheekbones, and and brow creases are the best--I began to love the company.

Now I am eagerly awaiting their muscle girl body!

 

yes... una lusis sculpt... i love their body but not the sculpt.... but when I saw one in person... I deffinately fell inlove...

 

Dollshe Orijean... I thought this mold looked like a bug-eyed alien when it was first released, downright ugly in fact. But something about it began to intrigue me many years later, and slowly I went from thinking of him as weird-in-a-bad-way to weird-in-a-good way.

The doll fully clicked with me when I realized Dollshe offered some fun skin colors, beyond the usual white and normal. I imagined an Orijean in a lovely green, and that, for some reason, made all the difference. After waiting to make certain it wasn't just a temporary madness (and waiting for another sale), I bought an Orijean in green from Dollshe.

 

Well, I used to like Unoas. Then for some reason I started getting tired of seeing them around. But now I am staring to like them again!

 

I've always loved doll Chateau (I say as I casually have three of their dolls on my wishlist. And none yet at home..) SO they weren't a company I hat to learn to love. Fairyland was. I used to be one of those people complaining about the same-face issues and wondering why people would order from a company with QC issues like they've been known for.

And oops. Now I have one. See, I had a character for whom the f60 body looked perfect, and then I got looking through heads and fell in love with Lacrima. I needed her vampire head, found one in my city and wound up as another person with a pastel goth fairyland doll (though mine also likes Lolita fashion.) Ironically, she's a major villain in my series, despite being like 5'0 and having pink hair.

 

Originally, when I became interested in the hobby, I really hated the way Doll Chateau doll's looked (like a lot of other people, it seems) but the more I've seen of them, the more keen I've become! I look at them now and see very elegant and pretty dolls, albeit still a little strange

 

CP/Fairyland Shiwoo. I disliked him on sight. Those wide, buglike eyes and slim nose... I couldn't understand why he was so popular. He looked odd to me. Until I realized that he was perfect for one of my characters.

Now I have two, plus a CP/Luts Harang, and for a while, the Juri 2006 that resembles Shiwoo. I swear the sculpt is cursed.

 

Heck, this is a hard one because I like most of the doll companies out there and am grateful to the incredible variety available now. And most dolls tend to grow on me given time. However, I also tend to like "odd" and "unconventional" sculpts like a few of the members have mentioned in this thread. (totally love Doll Chateau). It takes longer for pretty and realistic dolls to grow on me. Iplehouse is a company that is highly popular, but because of these qualities that are highly represented in their dolls, I have yet to find one that I fancy enough to purchase. But in a few months, who knows? I might find that they are my absolute favorite company and doll type.

 

I was never a huge fan of Iplehouse, but after searching for the perfect shell for one of my oldest characters I realized that IH Eric was it.

 

It's not really a specific sculpt or company, but more like a concept; I didn't really care for vampire dolls, or I thought there was nothing special about them, but it turned out I hadn't seen the right vampire yet, I guess. Because now I'm aiming on getting Doll Family H's Anye/Dark Night. Although other vampires still do nothing for me, haha.

 

Dollshe Saint. When I saw him for the first time, I was like 'there's NO WAY it's a popular and loved sculpt, just look at that face'. And than I saw him again like a year later in someone's photoshoot, and... well. I wouldn't necessarily bring him home, but I see the appeal now. There are so many beautiful characters that look just right with this face, it can be so different depending on face up and such.

Actually, I generally disliked Dollshe on the whole at first, something with their faces and long-limbed bodies just seemed off to me. Guess what, I'm waiting for Husky ._. And I'm in love.

 

I can't recall any instances of this for myself. I never had any issue with Doll Chateau (Some of their designs are a little too odd for me, but some of their unusual sculpts/bodies are unique and cool to me), and have eyed a few Dollzone dolls here and there. If anything, I've had the opposite happen for me.

And for me....that's Fairyland. I guess I can understand the appeal, but I've found they're just not for me. When I was first looking around for prospective sculpts to match the characters I had in mind, I heard about FL and their poseabilty and was intrigued. I checked out their website, and I did like a few from their feeple line (like Roke, for example) but was somewhat disheartened when I didn't see them update their Feeple65/70 lines after checking back there several times. Although Roke's a cool looking guy, he didn't end up fitting what I was looking for. And, as for FL as a whole, I found I wasn't really attracted to their other lines. I checked out their minifee a la cart in hopes of developing an interest, but to no avail. And, oddly enough, what killed interest in FL for me was seeing one in real life. They just didn't end up working for me.

I could say Iplehouse to an extent, but I go through fluctuations in interest/disinterest of them.

 

I used to really dislike Dollzone's Benjamin but something kept drawing me back to the sculpt and now, oh my goodness, I think he might be my favourite sculpt! I'd say looking at other people's versions of him definitely aided in the obsession.

 

Sort of. I really didn't like Dollshe Craft's earlier aesthetic compared to what they do now. I love my David Kuncci to death. I would be buying the 18M body too if it was 10% smaller. it's like a smidge too big for the boy who could use it. >_<

I think one thing that often changes my mind is owner-face-ups. I'm really meh about most of Iplehouse's default face-ups but man put a cool face-up on them and it's like I'm saving up for an iplehouse HID right now.

 

When I first started looking for my first doll, I was completely neutral on Unoas. It seemed like everyone and their mother owned one, so I did not even consider them for myself. After leaving the hobby for about two years and coming back, I fell totally in love with Sist! Unoa sculpts have such sweet, beautiful, and versatile faces, I don't know why it took me so long to realize that I now own a Sist and I love her to death! Can't wait to get some of the other expression plates for her

 

Sort of. My IOS Jaguar's face is quite punchable. I kind of hated it before I admitted to myself that he was great for Derren. Honestly, I still want to punch him, but that's why it suits the character so completely well. He was originally going to be a Ringdoll Sol.

 

Dollzone. Honestly, when I first started the hobby, Dollzone's dolls did not interest me, and honestly I didn't think their bodies looked all that great either. That certainly isn't case now since I now own two of their dolls and have three more on my wishlist!

 

When I first saw Dollzone's Wendy, I liked her, but not that much. I ended up falling in love and ordering one. I had little interest in Dikadoll's limited Tea, a doll a bit bigger than Fairyland Puki Puki. I consistently dislike doll with teeth showing, which she has. But it works with her half open eyes. I love her, even though she's a pain to find clothes for.

 

I think that never happened to me. If something bugs me about a scupt that I actually dislike it then I'm unlikely to change my mind... however! I used to dislike Volks by the pictures on the company's website. I honestly couldn't understand why people liked them so much. But then I saw photos of dolls made by their owners and they just looked completely different to me! So now I kind of like Volks? Though I wouldn't decide to get one unless I saw photos from the dolls owner because the company photos remain uninspiring to me lol

 

I used to hate Fairyland dolls because I thought the sculpts all looked the same, but now I have four of them on my wishlist oops.

 

I hated Volks when I started. Their faces were so bland and childish. The company was notoriously hard to buy from (lotteries, FCS that was only available to the Japanese) and that also gave me the whole "If my money isn't good enough for you then I don't need you" factor.

What changed my mind was dollfie dreams. Volks USA did a great job with customer service and made them more readily accessible without all the holier-than-thou feel. Then by the time I went back to look at SDs 7 years had passed and their face-ups and sculpts got more cute than child like.

Now I understand that for many of the Volks customers the lotteries and limited orders add an air of excitement (hence why their standard dolls are being discontinued and rotated - they don't sell half as well). It just annoys me, but I can respect the business model more. Besides, just about every company does limiteds, Volks isn't the only one anymore.

Current volks total - 4 DD and 2 SD

 

I had this feeling towards DollShe's boys when I entered the hobby. I didn't like any of the sculpts at all. And the bodies seemed too skinny, they looked like they were starving to me. Seeing owner's pictures didn't helped at all as I couldn't find good customs of them (I wasn't into Flickr back then). But as I not too fond of big dolls that feeling ended there.

To my surprise, a couple of months ago I fell in love and purchased a Bernard head in the fashion size for a very special character I planned to put in resin so I have swallowed my previous words.

 

I really used to dislike Dollzone's sculpts back when they were still making their old dolls. I just thought they were so...weird looking, I guess. The eyes were too far apart, mostly. But then they discontinued everything, and I love their new sculpts! (Carter is actually my favorite sculpt of any company.) Surprisingly though, I'm starting to like their old sculpts more too. (Megi is looking cuter and cuter to me now~)

 

I was on the fence about Minifee Liria, but I recently saw a photoshoot of her and have fallen in love, it's too bad she's so limited >.<

 

RS/BBB actually had me on the fence. I had dolls of theirs I really wanted but never really knew if I wanted them or not. Then I found my Song on the marketplace and fell in total love. Then I saw more owner pictures of sculpts I had previously looked at and that was it.

There's other dolls I'd like but right now they're just too expensive to justify.

 

I really didn't like a lot of the older Delfs when I first joined the hobby (back then eLuts was like...THE place you bought dolls) Shiwoo and Soony specifically. Now I'd love to own them both. I also really disliked Dollshe Saint and now I think he's one of my favorite male sculpts. Tastes change!

 

I feel you 100%, even down to Ninon changing the way I saw Lilycat dolls. I made the last payment on my Ninon this morning, actually. I know her body proportions are unconventional, but somehow she's still flawless to me.

 

That happened with me with the venitu I hated him in the beginning but after a few owner pics I was obsessed and the same thing with dc I hated them but now I find myself loving a lot of their newer sculpts

 

I've had an experience kinda like that I guess. My first doll was a minifee Chloe, but pretty soon after I got her I realized I'd sort of subconsciously chose her just because of her popularity and some part of me thought that she had to be the doll I should get and I shouldn't keep looking. Very silly of me, but hey, I was 13, so can you really blame me? Overall that doll frustrated me to no end for that reason and quite a few others, so I sold her and went through a long period of really destesting Fairyland. Evantually I got over that, and now here I am years later having bought my grail doll, a feeple60 Celine haha. (She could be shipped any day now, I'm so excited )

 

Fairyland Celine. I absolutely hated her. I wasn't into teeth, I didn't like her duckish lips and just... No. I wasn't getting her. Then my friend found a Celine for sale bought her. I was floored with how beautiful she was and just instantly had to have one. So I did. And I love my Sloane.

 

I will admit, I didn't like Doll Chateau very much when I first heard of them. I thought their sculpts were outright weird, and just couldn't get into them. Every time I saw an unboxing thread, my question was always "But WHY, though??"

They started growing on me when I thought about what the character designs would look like as illustrations. Artistically, they're beautiful dolls, in a very goth-y pretty way. I began to understand. I also noted that their long and lanky proportions reminded me very much of one of my most beloved mangas' art styles. I still didn't think I'd ever buy one of their dolls, though.

I went on their site for the first time in ages, and lo and behold, there goes Snowborn. My first thought was "Oh, he's cute! What's weird about him."

He had four legs in the company photos, that's what was weird about him, but I loved the fullset wig, and the faceup/body blush are wonderful-- those freckles! And now he's on layaway (With a human body, not the elf one-- I will accept that I'm not the most exciting and whimsical doll collector) and I could die from the excitement.

Good job, Doll Chateau, good job. _(:3 」∠)_

 

For me, it's Volks Pearl. I thought I really liked Volks doll with dolly look (big eyes, chubby cheeks) so she wasn't my type but I slowly fell in love with her...! Even though I don't have her right now I wish to have Pearl as boy&girl twin someday...

 

fifth motif venitu. never imagine im gonna like him till i saw photos from other collectors n bam i bought him

 

Unoa. I didn't like them for quite a long time, and then I found one with an amazing faceup and now I like Unoas. ^^

 

Congrats on getting one! She is amazing. Her unconventional body proportions I think are what makes her very special and unique.

 

I’m in the same boat as everyone that mentioned Doll Chateau dolls. Oh man, did I ever not get them at all. I was initially creeped out by the long limbs BUT THEN I couldn’t stop staring at each sculpt and kept finding these amazing little details.

I was ultimately reminded of Lori Earley paintings which I love so now I’m hooked. LOL

 

Absolutely. I got a few weird looks when I told my friends that I found the perfect doll, and they saw her. She's just so elegant and ethereal~

 

Many a time! Quite often it is the official faceups such as the odd painting of the lips and eyes which mask the sculpt. The only company I can really mention is Soom, but that is because I visit their site the most and due to photography habits. I have regretted on these past not getting a couple of a sculpts after seeing box opening/ owner pics.

And then the minimee realistic sculpts as they were so different at the time... Until I got hooked myself after seeing possibilities, and of course the ubiquitous owner pics

 

Omg yes. Not one or two, but so many!

 

I honestly didn't like the Dollshe Grown Saint when I first saw it. I have no idea why. Over time, I have loved it more and more and considered getting him for a long time.

 

I love my Doll Leaves Nina. I purchased her second hand and the gal who did her face up did a lovely job. When I go back and look at the company photo, I would have never ever selected her as my first doll. I was looking for more mature facial features. It's amazing the power of a face up. Also, I adore her curvy hips. She's got a nice little rump. LOL.

 

I started off hating Dollshe just because of how much I have heard people sometimes had to wait for their dolls, but now I like the company because I fell in love with their Hound sculpt thanks to a friend that owns him.

 

Soom.... It sound not true, but I used to hate Soom

 

Seconding (4thing/etc) the Doll Chateau. They really do have a sneaky charm, don't they?

On a more general level, I originally hated dolls with teeth showing. I thought it made them look a bit odd and ditzy. Then I encountered AprilStory's dolls- Victoria, specifically, who is PERFECT for one of my characters. When done right, it just looks so beautiful and expressive! Shame I probably won't be able to get her while the sale is on, haha...