Volks Doll Party LA 2024 - September 7-8th

For Tea Party attendees - For some reason I have it in my head that you're only allowed to bring one doll in with you, but does anyone know if this is an actual rule, or if my brain just made it up?

Only asking since I put together themed outfits for my SD boy and DD girl, so I'd love to bring both of them in as a matched pair.

 

Oh, I am getting excited friends! I'll be bringing Masha again. I gave her a total make over during Covid, so she's ready for prime time. Is anyone hanging around on Saturday night?

 

IMG_1551 on Flickr

Heres a doll tax for all my whining earlier in the thread, sorry . Since I never post pictures of anything I make. Ever.

This is Alain in his James Dean inspired outfit I made. Since I didn't get into the tea party my mom said she'd take him in for me

Looking forward to the Satogaeri service to get him looking like new! I'm too shy to actually talk to anyone but its nice to be around people that are interested in the same things all the same. Hope everyone has a great weekend and gets to take home a special new friend and some awesome items if theyre so inclined.

 

Your Alain is so cool. Your mom should enter him in the costume contest.

 

If you're entering a doll in the contest, they're on display yeah? So would having another doll be okay in that case?

 

@idrisfynn that's what I thought. I haven't seen them post it recently, but I recall reading it somewhere before.

@Devdasi that's the loophole I was thinking of too. It's very confusing since we don't have any specific rules laid out

@shinidoragon I love it! My guy may or may not have a similar outfit (men's fashion for the theme is somewhat limited, though fabulous lol)

Edit: in any case, I'm so excited for everything this weekend! It's going to such a good time no matter what. I can't wait to see everyone's dolls!

 

In Japan, when you hand over a head at the store, they take it with no packing material or anything. I've brought heads in bubblewrap or a box and they only keep the head and give you everything else back.

 

Thank you so much!

I might have her enter for me. I like to try and represent the boys since I mostly make clothes for men.

Clothes for the time period for men are extremely limited, true. I tried to modernize a bit with interesting seams and topstiching. His guitar lights up too since I couldn't come up with anything more interesting than a shirt and sweater combo lol.

 

You don't need to bring anything with you for it, just the forms and the head/headcap/plate.

Still debating who to bring. I always bring Ephram but I like to bring another too. I've brought my Tsukasa and Tiffany already, maybe my RG Lilac or one of my older dolls like my oldskin Nono or F-05 or Link. Don't have anything suitable for the period so I won't be entering the costume contest for either my dolls or me. XD;

 

That's not listed as a rule for this show, but I do see it at other doll conventions. I only bring Yo size, so I usually bring two, and many of my Yo photos of other tables show the same. But I also brought two larger size for the mansion events in the past, especially if they were in the contest, and it wasn't an issue. The main rule is that all dolls have to be Volks.

 

Tea Party was a blast, but which One Off was the one that didn’t get an owner? I was distracted when they were announcing that she had no entries

 

WS Pearl! She is going back to Japan, I'm sure she will find an owner someday. Though it would have been a guaranteed win if just one person wanted her!

 

Poor Pearl, I can't believe it! She was so lovely. I hope she someday finds a home!!

I was so blessed to win the Victorique, I'm so excited! I can't wait to get her home and unbox her. But for now she is remaining safely secured for her journey back across the country with me!

This was such an amazing day! I loved the faceup panel and getting to meet so many artists.

 

Oh that's interesting. I would've expected that they'd rock / paper / scissors the rights to the doll off at the end of the Tea Party to anyone interested, as that is the usual custom for dolls who go unclaimed during normal entry procedures. No one normally gets taken away to an uncertain future fate.

Volks expects this outcome may happen as a side effect of the entry restrictions - sometimes a doll won't be anyone's #1 choice above all others in the same pool, as that can be a high bar to meet for each and every doll at the same time. Sadly there's no ranked-choice entry, which would solve most of the occurrences of this problem, but RPS is easier to implement.

If the same thing should happen to any of the lottery dolls for today's events, be sure to stick around for possible RPS if you wanted them as a 2nd choice!

 

I was lucky enough to get live coverage of Dolpa from afar! Congrats to all the winners!!

Don't forget to post and link your photos here

 

Does anyone know what charity the auction doll will be benefiting this year? I know in years past it was Make a Wish!

 

I was disappointed with the lack of wig selection.

 

I asked and was told there is no charity this time. Money goes to Volks.

 

My timing worries came true... I did win a doll, and I did have to leave for the airport before they were going to hand out dolls!

Luckily the Volks staff were so sweet, they made an exception and packed up my girl early so I could still get to the airport in time for my flight. Honestly the whole Volks team were so helpful and delightful, for me their sweetness is really what made it a special event.

Really happy to have a dollie souvenir from my time at Dolpa. Hopefully others also came home with fun mementos!

 

I got 2 dolls. If I never went to Dolpa I would never probably bought them myself. I wanted icons but no luck and up with Dear SD which is to me looks like more realistic version of American doll. Small & chubby. They just confused me coz they look nothing like “classics” SD or DD… so many questions….

 

Can't wait to see photos and hear more about the event! I decided not to travel down for it after not making it into the tea party, but I do miss the energy of a Dolpa. Hope everyone had a good time!

 

@AbrakadbrA
Congratulations! I’ve never seen a DSD IRL. But I really want Lana but was unable to attend. I’ve tried to win her in Japanese lotteries many times.

 

Who did you get?

 

I ended up winning the YoSD girl Mai from best selection I had a lot of fun it was great meeting new people too.

 

Congratulations to everyone that won a doll at the Tea Party on Saturday and at the Dolpa on Sunday! It was fun hanging out with everyone, talking about dolls, and taking pictures after so long. Looking forward to more events to come hopefully soon.

 

Marika & Hana with my luck ofc they have exact same outfits just different shoes. And face ups quite similar. But they pose so well! And they even got eyelashes! But heads is so big 1/3 SD wig cap is too small for them. But they so cute & so strange lol

 

My congratulations to everybody who won. I was the person who won Rei-Tenshi and I cannot describe how happy I am. I am used to be a lottery loser. Volks team did a great job, their performance was excellent. I enjoyed every minute of my short vacation. I hope the event will be on regular basis in the future.

 

Congrats to everyone who brought home dolls! I have a question for tea party attendees! Was there anything else announced besides the 2 new SD16 jewel sculpts? Is it true FCS is coming back?

 

@Anime32500 Web FCS in (I believe) October. No details past that.

 

So exciting! Thank you

 

Well this was an extremely awesome con! All the staff were so wonderful, sweet, and helpful. They all really help make the con something special for me.

I stocked up on a ton of clothes and art supplies and got my doll to the beauty salon back in Japan to be redone with no problems!

I was also extremely lucky and waited around with a bunch of other people to get a chance to get into the tea party. Unfortunately there were only 2 spots and I got one of them, so I got to attend! I was in so much disbelief I was shaking.

I got to hang out with some wonderful people and watch my mom win a rei-tenshi! I was so happy for her ^.^

The new Gou female dolls were gorgeous and I really want to get my hands on either the emerald or topaz. So beautiful looking and just my esthetic. And the FCS is returning in October. Fantastic news!

I also came home Sunday with Ernest. Who was even more gorgeous in person . I can't believe my luck held out to get him, I was pretty speechless.

Congratulations to everyone who one a doll and hope your weekend was amazing! The director said he hopes to resume having it every other year like before at the same hotel hopefully. Fingers crossed that's true! I'll definitely be back, lol.

 

FCS = face ups? How does it work?

 

@AbrakadbrA FCS=Full Choice System. In Japan it's where buyers can create a custom doll from a large selection of heads, and some bodies, as well as get custom makeup. For the US web version there's a much smaller selection of heads (usually like 4-5 each round), and the body sizes rotate. You're also only allowed to choose a set makeup look or no makeup.

 

I went into Dolpa wanting to win the Yo-Sd Mel and I walked out with an Icon Aisha! I saw an Aisha at the tea party and fell in love with her instantly and I so luckily won her The Volks staff is all so incredibly sweet and created such a fun and exciting environment.

My only complaint for the whole thing is that they ran out of many food items quickly at the tea party but my sister won a Sei Tenshi and that excitement totally made up for it!

P.S. Topaz is GORGEOUS and my fave SD16 gal thus far

 

Honestly, I was a little worried about this year’s Dolpa but it was amazing! I was really impressed with this year’s Tea Party.

I ended up closer to the end to enter on Sunday but there was still a large selection of girls clothes (yo to sdgr) but I didn’t see much for boys so I don’t know if it already was snatched up or not much came ahead of time.
I did get a free tote bag from my $200+ purchase which I thought I would be too late for. I did see they had left over when people were purchasing the dolls at 4:30pm but I didn’t see staff hand them out with a purchase of a doll.

For exchange services dolls had to be submitted with a face mask. I did see staff ask someone to go to the desk and purchase a new one. (I just wanted to mention it in case it changes next year)

I had an amazing time, I’m so glad I could see familiar faces and meet new ones!

 

Attending the Dolpa and Tea Party was so fun! It was heartwarming to feel the camaraderie and positivity amongst everyone. Despite being a little nervous due to the long hiatus since the last one and this Dolpa feeling bigger than previous events, the friendly atmosphere quickly put me at ease. I was the one with the F-45 girl in the sequined poodle skirt on Saturday. Although I may not be the most active member here, the event gave me the chance to connect in person with folks I've only known through their screen names. The generosity and warmth of everyone there were truly touching, and the Volks staff were nothing short of spectacular. I look forward to the next time. I was so enthused that I came home and reorganized my whole doll display cabinet! Anyway, if anyone remembers me, feel free to reach out! ❤️

 

Glad you got in! The odd thing though is that there were many more empty seats for the tea party...my friend had a friend waiting to get in, and we had empty seats at our table, which Volks staff counted, but then they wouldn't let people in to take those seats. Apparently they said they were waiting for people who had paid but hadn't arrived yet? But it was already after 4pm. So I don't know what happened with that.

But the tea party was super fun! Watching people get excited over winning dolls was the most fun.

 

I also had a wonderful time at Dolpa! I really appreciate the uniqueness of the LA event—to me it seems very different from the Japan-based Volks events and other non-Volks gatherings. (Even though I missed everything on Sunday except the shopping!)

I really enjoyed the novelty of the Japanese dealer outfits, and one or two of them came home with me… I liked having a selection of things in the shop that I don’t usually see as often.

The best part of the event was getting to see doll friends who live far from me but had traveled to LA for the event! I was able to catch up with a few people that I hadn’t seen in five years! Reuniting with friends helped make Dolpa feel very special.

It was also great to meet others where I might have known their username or seen their pictures, but had never met them in person before! Sometimes it’s just so nice to put a face to a name. Hopefully, our paths will cross again at future Volks events!

I was very easily distracted, unfortunately, so I basically only took pictures of matcha parfaits and sunrises… instead of pictures from the event! If there’s a next time, I’ll have to be better about capturing memories of dolls and parts of Dolpa itself! (I don’t regret the parfaits at all, though!!)

 

And how long is the wait for finished doll with face up to be shipped? And it’s only for resin not for vinyl?

 

It was lovely seeing everyone again! I took very few pictures, and forgot my charger so my phone was dead half of Sunday lmao, but I had a great time. Hanging out with people was really nice and seeing everyone's beautiful dolls! And Ephram enjoyed his outing as well. XD He's still wearing the shark hoodie I got lol I may not get it back.

To the person who thought there wasn't much for boys when they got in late, I was in fairly early and there wasn't much for bigger boys then either. Very heavily girls on the selection, although I couldn't find a pair of pants for an SD13 girl, but I got a cute plaid skirt that suits the doll that needed them so it worked out! I was fairly good this year lol.

I fell in love with an Aisha(#14) and kept going back to pine over her and adore her and in the end I was lucky enough to take her home! She's gorgeous and I keep staring at her. ;;

 

Congratulations to all the winners at the tea party and everyone who came home with a doll the next day!!
This was my first US dolpa and I wasn't sure what to expect, but getting to meet so many doll owners and going to the tea party was so amazing
I also won a Beth March at the tea party and I still can't believe it!
There were some issues with the hotel, but over all this was an amazing experience, I hope we get another US dolpa soon.

 

@AbrakadbrA I'm not sure about the timeline. Perhaps someone who's done it could answer. But, yes it's only for resin dolls.

 

Ahh, congrats! I saw you with her day 2, she's beautiful!

 

Did anyone happen to get pictures of the DearSD with their numbers visible? I won Nayu #13 and realized I didn't get a good picture of her until I got home!

 

I took almost no pictures myself but I did find #13 shown in a few posts on Instagram! She's very cute, congrats! I know the feeling, I didn't take any pictures of my DearSD from 2017 until later too. ^_^;;;

VanilleNell on Instagram: "#DolpaInLA5 Day 2 - DearSD #superdollfie #volksdoll #dearsd"
https://www.instagram.com/p/C_qyytoyaox
https://www.instagram.com/p/C_qvFrby2Nj

 

I'd also like to see Lana #17 for the same reason, if possible! The numbers in all of the photos I took of the DSD are out of shot because I was too focused on their cute little faces

 

Thank you so much, all the one offs are so nice I'm glad we get really nice faceups for the US one offs!

 

Not the best pictures but #13 (same as the ones Ian linked to my ig post above)
https://flic.kr/p/2qfZPwz
https://flic.kr/p/2qfZfh7

Lana #17 https://flic.kr/p/2qfYRwg
I do have a more zoomed out version that shows the # that I didn't upload. Message me if you want it.



I posted many Dolpa photos to my instagram https://www.instagram.com/vanillenell/
& flickr Dolpa In LA 5 2024
if anyone wants to see.

I had a great weekend with everyone! I already can't wait until the next Dolpa!
Congrats to everyone who won a limited or one-off. I didn't have any luck with getting a new doll but got some nice clothes and finally I got another stand so all my dolls have stands now, which I'm very happy about. I plan to redo their display space this weekend. I'm also really happy to get the Shiro-kuma Setsu-Chan from the Tea Party. All of my dolls have an accompanying Volks plush now

 

Who won the costume contest?

 

This Ariel. I don't recall her owner
Untitled by VanilleNell, on Flickr

 

@Nell Thanks. Such a lovely costume.

 

@Nell Thank you!!! What a treat to see so many gorgeous dolls in one place

I'm voting for 11 in my heart for his cute little bolo tie 29's sexy cowboy is so good too!

 

Her owner is the very sweet @PaeoniaDrop !!

Speaking of requests, did anyone happen to film the one off announcements? My husband wasn't able to be in the tea party room and would love to see/hear my reaction to winning Victorique. If you got this clip and could pop it into Dropbox or something and send it to me, I would so appreciate it! A long shot for sure but figured I would ask!

 

Thanks so much for the links!! I appreciate it so much

 

I just got home from CA yesterday! I had an amazing time at my first Dolpa~ I really enjoyed meeting so many new people and people who I only recognized by their dolls through IG. Everyone I talked to was so friendly and I just loved the overall atmosphere. Sadly, I didn't win any of the dolls I entered for, but I did win one of the Hikari Tenshis at the tea party. What a lovely experience. I took a lot of pics and posted on IG : https://www.instagram.com/devs_dolls?igsh=eTlrZ2kxOHBucHBq

 

@Nell, thank you for sharing your photos! I won the #12 ICON, but took photos of every other ICON except her, lol. And it was so good to see you; sorry I acted so ditzy when you talked to me.

@Ian-KunX, so good to see you again! Ephram in a shark hoodie --

@IMySD, congratulations on winning Victorique! I'm looking forward to seeing photos, when you're ready to share

@nyaaain, #11 was my husband's entry. The bolo tie came from an older Volks SD17 suit, lol. Thank you so much for your kind comment, and having an eye for detail!

 

@beamlette It was good to see you again, too! Congrats on your wins! And no worries, you didn't seem ditzy my brain was pretty fried from all the activity by Sunday afternoon and I'm sure I was slightly incoherent myself