What doll got you into the hobby?

I remenber I discovered bjd in 2004, when I was pregnant. I saw the Shall. I decided to have. But I had no one before 2013, and it was a Pukifee, because of size.

 

I first saw the Camine from Dream of Dolls, which sparked my interest.

Years later, I entered the hobby after discovering Yael from Maskcatdoll.

 

Yes! Angell Studio The White Doe - I saw a photo of her on social media, and it was love at first sight. I ordered the full set last year, and I received her last week. I am absolutely thrilled! Congrats on Yumeo - such a wonderful doll!

 

One specific doll didn't bring me into the hobby, at least as an observer, because i usually just saw pictures of them on deviantart and gaia (lol.) Back in 2006-2007. But the first one to make me finally open my wallet and jump in to own one was Kiwi? from luts.



I also no longer have her. I traded her years ago.

 

Omigawd, yes! Haute Doll magazine was what first introduced me to BJDs and I believe it was a combination of the Volks Yukinojo (original version) and Nobility Doll LIE promo pics that made me yearn for them. Of course, Dollshe's were all the rage back then so I'm probably in the same age group as you. *high fives* I remember going back to Barnes & Nobles like every month or so seeing if they had the latest edition because that magazine has some really good articles in it and even some amazing photo stories too. Got one of my best friends into it too and she discovered DoA for us. It was fun looking at the magazines with her and dreaming when we would have our first BJDs. *sighs* Total nostalgia!

 

I first found out about bjds through a suggested video, this was ages ago so I might not remember it very well. I had been watching doll videos and yt suggested me a video from Nicolle's dreams, she is sadly not posting anymore doll content. I liked the doll but it was rlly Smart Dolls that drew me in. After seeing Danny Choo's dolls I started researching them more and I rlly began to want one of my own. I was quite young back then so I only recently got my first girl in late December, and I am planning to get a body for a head that arrived a few weeks ago.

 

I stumbled upon Ringdoll S while browsing a dealer's website and I can still remember how absolutely gorgeous he looked when he was being released. He was too good looking to pass on and it took almost a year before he was shipped to me, but I do own him now!

 

I went to a convention and saw the Volks Inc booth, immediately fell in love and obsession with dolls. Waited for a year before purchasing my first bjd, but in between I obsessed with many companies sculpts and kept falling down the rabbit hole of bjds! My first doll was a MDD, she is still a prized possession of mine.

 

easy answer, she is a dragon by spirit imprint, i wanna get like 3, one bright pink and a white and black one

 

Hmm, not really. I was more in love with the dolls as concept and to help me get better at drawing. Then once I started looking at dolls I fell in love with practically every one I saw. I remember being obsessed with iplehouse, soom, and souldoll but as for specific dolls, I was really happy for whatever I could get my hands on.

 

Peaks Woods Briana. This is their old single-jointed body.

 

In 2005 I stumbled upon a box opening. Someone had just received their Delf El from Luts, back before Cerberus Project sold through Fairyland. I had Barbies and American Girl dolls as a kid, but I was absolutely awe-struck by this doll's beauty and realism. Been obsessed ever since!

 

I can't remember whether it was Dream of Doll Ducan or Angel Region Ren first. I'd seen the dolls before, but I think those were Volks dolls, and while I thought they were pretty, I didn't feel like I needed one. Then I saw those two and that all changed.

Never ended up with a Ducan, but I do have a similar DoD event head, and two Rens.

 

I got a blast of nostalgia when read someone saying DOD and that was also my introduction I was so amazed at how life like bjds were. Man I wish I saved the photos from their site to see what I was in to back then. It was the vampire girl with white hair tha tI saw first but the more adult looking dolls from them I adored!

EDIT: I was able to find them. The first I saw was Tahlia, and the one I was in love with was Code No. 5. I really thought No. 5 was so cool back then XD not my style anymore but ahhh such good memories.

 

Volks Yori. Not my thing at all beyond the company photos, it turned out, but finding a pic of her online c. 2006 was what drew me in.

The first I truly fell in love with was the Luts/CP Dark Elf Soo. Way too anime for my current taste, but oh, was I obsessed at the time!

 

I don't remember the first doll I ever saw or what specifically got me into the hobby, but the first doll I wanted was a Luts Kid Delf Bory. I still don't have one but the whole Bory line is basically a grail for me, honestly.

 

The first "doll" that exposed me to the hobby wasn't a BJD but rather a Pullip Prunella, I was so in love with her and all the gorgeous customized Pullip dolls I would see on FlickR at the time. I was around 12 years old I thought BJDs and Blythes were creepy at first, until I first discovered Luts and fell for "Delf Soony". That took me down the BJD rabbit hole, although I didn't get my first doll until about 21-22 years old. None of those sculpts match with my current style and I never ended up owning a Pullip, but I do admire them a lot to this day as the starting point of my passion for the hobby

 

I was reeeeeally into webcomics as a kid, and I read Leigh Stein's Schism while it was still updating back in 2005. I went to the author's personal website and found all these gorgeous dolls! So cool. I don't remember many of the sculpts, I think one was an old F-28 (F-16), there was a Ricky artist head, a few more Volks and possibly a BlueFairy? I was hooked instantly, I wanted to know all about these dolls!!! The first specific doll I wanted to own myself was a DOD Si (I think, that was 16 years ago lol). I couldn't buy from overseas, my parents wouldn't allow it, so I saved and saved and picked nickels up off the cafeteria floor and ended up buying a CP Nanuri '06 head on the marketplace, lol, not my first idea AT ALL lol. I do have a doll for the character that I created for the Si, but he first came home as a Dollzone Demi and he's a BlueFairy Niky now.

This prompted me to look into what's happening with that webcomic now! IIRC the author left the BJD hobby years ago, or at least is no longer active in the forums, but she's still active as an artist and has revamped the comic! Thanks for the blast from the past, lol, and I loved reading everybody's experiences in this thread! So cool to see how everybody found the hobby.

 

Dream of dolls dukan and I never even got him... sad they don't exist anymore as a company. I was looking up some references on Google of doll eyes to draw and then I came across these beautiful realistic looking dolls (bjds) now I am a proud owner of 18 dolls

 

The doll that got me into the hobby was a Delf El. I was browsing eBay one evening, searching for ooak Japanese art dolls and came across a listing for an El- it was love at first sight! I ended up placing a bid on the doll, but unfortunately I didn't win. Instead I ended up buying an El directly from the company. That was back in 2005- and I have been in love with BJDs ever since^^

 

I still remember the day - I walked into the Volks store located previously in Torrence and saw Creamy Mami and Morisawa Yuu Super Dollfies. After that day, my obsession begun!

 

As a lot of people I thought they were kinda creepy. But after seeing a couple posts about casting and the process and seeing Dollfie Dream dolls for the first time in real life, I fell in LOVE with cutesy/anime-esque dolls. (tiny anthro, yosd, MDD, smaller scale etc...)

Got more and more obsessed and finally purchased a MDD a year later.

 

Ah, I'd always liked looking at people's BJDs, but not interested enough to look into actual sculpts and companies. But I'm finally in a place where I'm financially comfortable enough to get into this somewhat luxury hobby and my first boy was Luts' Icarus. I had no hesitation in wanting him :')

 

I don't know which sculpts I saw first, but I have a friend (who is also here on DoA) who showed me a photostory back in early high school. I loved the medium and how pretty the dolls were and how uniquely you could tell stories like that. I didn't really get into BJDs right away, but the more I researched and found, the more I liked them. Dollzone's Yuu is the one who really stole my heart and made me want to get him. I couldn't afford him for a couple years until I got into college and really started having part-time jobs, and even then I could only afford him as a head for several months.

But I still have him and he's lovely.

 

^This boy. Volks SwD Lucas was one of the dolls I saw and I was immediately in love. He was limited though and when I saw pictures of him in in 2005, he had already been sold out for a year. I thought that I would never be able to own this sculpt and so I decided on purchasing another doll.

That first doll didn't give me the same feeling SwD Lucas did. Long story short, I sold the doll I purchased and searched for my first grail doll. Really happy I own this boy .

 

The first doll I ever stumbled across was a Custom House Ai, which someone had posted on an anime-centric forum and described as a "super dollfie type doll." I thought it was cool looking, and so that got me interested enough to find out what that was all about, so I looked it up, and on Volks' site I saw Shirou Tachibana. This was late 2005, so he and the other Tokyo boys were quite new and popular. Shirou was the doll though that ultimately pulled me in and made me decide to enter the hobby.

 

Ringdoll's 2011 Frankenstein got me into this. I saw a panel about BJDs at a convention around 2013 or so and was curious. The ones there were so pretty and when I got home, I started researching them. None clicked with me until I found him. Unfortunately, he had long been sold out. It wasn't until summer of 2020 that I managed to track one down, full set, and now the doll that got me into this hobby, who became my grail, sits in my room with all of my others

 

It was October 2010 and I met a college mate that was waiting for her Ariadoll Narvy to arrive. As she learnt I could sew and the doll itself has special measurements, she told me all about it and I was hooked! About a year and a half later she put the Narvy for sale and even if I wasn't very interested, I felt like I had to buy it for the meaning it had. In 2012 I dared to start carving it, YES, CARVE. And this year I'm retaking the project with fresh and interesting ideas. You'll hear from me soon.

 

Oh man. It started with Pullip if we're going way back, but then I found Angell-Studio through that same google rabbit hole. Those were the first BJDs that I saw. My dad offered to buy me one, because he had some extra money come in and wanted to help start me and my brother in hobbies that we might not otherwise have the chance to because we were in highschool. The Angell-Studio website was down for whatever reason, though, and so I was panicked. I didn't know where else to buy these dolls. I stumbled across Dollmore, though, and the rest is history. I don't own any Angell-Studio dolls, but who knows. Maybe one of these days.

 

It might seem odd, but the doll that actually got me into the hobby wasn't one of the lovely fancy fullsets that were popular around the time I finally stepped in (they were actually a turn off for me!)--it was a simple little Bobobie Sprite. Because what I wanted wasn't a pretty fancy doll, I wanted to be able to make a poseable 3D interpretation of one of my OCs, whatever method that took. I'd previously explored kitbashing action figures, modifying playline dolls, and even the off-topic 1/6 Volks dolls, and rejected all of them for not having the right base to work from. I wasn't tied to BJDs in any way, I was tied to the end result. And it just so happens that the Sprite head sculpt looks very, very similar to that character, in a way no other BJD, playline doll, or anything else ever had for me. So 13 years ago, after a couple of years of glancing at and dismissing BJDs, I finally decided to try one out. And 13 years after that, he's still here.

 

I learnt about bjd when I was in high school. At that time I was more interested in the crafting part, and thought one day I would make a doll by myself. I still remember that one photo from a Japanese bjd maker's blog, a boy with black wig and black kimono. He has the long and up-pointing ears like some traditional Japanese spirits, and his eyes are so gentle that it melted my heart. Judging from my current aesthetic that doll is far from being exquisite or pretty(after all, it was made from clay and never got a proper sanding), yet the impression left by that doll definitely had some influences on my choice of dolls years later.

 

The minifees

 

Dollfie Dream - Miku.

 

I had that issue of Haute Doll and it got me interested in the hobby. I fell in love with the Hound, Bermann and Volks Johanna. I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy the hobby, so I looked for a less expensive first doll and bought a B&G Rin, Hiro in 2009. I still have him. Eventually, I scooped up several Dollshe lads.

 

I will never forget when I first saw BJDs. It was around 2004-2005 when I stumbled across a Japanese website with small photos of oldskin Volks dolls dressed in yukata. I've never seen anything like this before, and got instantly hooked! I remember being impressed with the amount of detail, their scale, and how they pose . I still think there is nothing more beautiful and fascinating than ball joined dolls, and this hobby as a whole!

 

I was first exposed to this hobby by a favorite doll customizer who unboxed a Myou Doll, and I found myself browzing Myou's website. I hadn't really liked dolls that much before that, but I thought they were gorgeous! I didn't actually get an Myou of my own until many years later, but I'm happy I was eventually able to get my Myou Michelle.

 

I was a member of a doll forum (not bjd) about 12 years ago and one member posted about bjd in an ot post. I had mainly heard of fashion bjd so I did not really know about abjd at the time. Someone posted some Lati Yellow and I fell in love but no way could afford $300 for one doll so I put it on the back burner. Once I finally came around to the idea of looking at bjd again and could afford them I saw basic Lati were in a way harder to get at the lower price range and I figured if I going to spend that much I’m going to buy a bigger doll. It’s a funny thing though, after you spend that much on one doll it becomes your new standard. Anyway, I came back around to my first bjd love and bought two Lati Yellow cuties and I’d say that they are definitely the doll that got me into the hobby.

 

the first ones i ever saw, where i understood them to be BJD were IOS Jaguar & Chaos, but Doll Chateau Mephisto.Pheles pushed me over the edge to actually buy my first one. he was my gateway doll to resin addiction...

I was lucky to get Methos (my Mephisto.Pheles) from a dealer's stock order after discontinuation, and found Jag and Chaos second hand later from wonderful DOA members

 

A few years ago I felt the urge to customize barbies/monster high, but I wanted the dolls to be more age appropriate for me and going into a toy store to buy them was a hurdle too big for me. I wanted to relive my childhood but in a mature way. So instead of actually buying and doing it myself I looked on YouTube to see how others enjoyed it. I came across a video with an image I recognized from my childhood. My best friend loved Blythes but never owned one. Her room had a lot of post cards with Blythes on them. I clicked it and I went further and further down the rabbit hole. Then I saw an image of the most beautiful doll I had ever seen! It was an minifee chloe. The video was a type of "get ready with me" doll version. I was so shocked by all the clothes, details and that a grown up was playing with her. That's when I did a lot of research and bought a secondhand chicline ineffa.

 

I honestly had to think a lot about this... I'd been seeing BJDs and admiring them from afar since the early aughts, but I can't think of a particular doll where I looked at it and thought yes, that's the one I want. For a very long time it was purely an observer interest on my part.

Beyond that I was indecisive for ages over pulling the trigger even after I decided I did want one, less from the cost and more of a fear I wouldn't enjoy it "enough" to justify the purchase, if that makes sense? I would say overall Luts most consistently had the dolls I would gaze at in a saved tab for weeks to months before finally deciding against buying a version of my own, though-- right up until I actually did.

 

I got into the hobby years ago, when I was 13, back in like 2011, and my first ever doll was a Bluefairy Tinyfairy Niky. I lost interest in the hobby after a while, and sold my doll. But the recent popularity of anime-style sculpts are getting my weeb butt back into BJDs again. I currently have a 2D Doll Caicai boy on order with very specific plans for him.

 

The very first doll I saw was Dollfie Dream Rei Ayanami, I collect anime figures and I saw one in someone's Rei collection. I kept an eye on dollfie dreams for a bit (and got really excited when Len Kagamine came out) but I figured they were way too expensive for me. A few months later I eventually stumbled upon resin bjds and was immediately hooked. I did end up getting a blank Dollfie Dream head and body to make my own Rei, but I've since sold her off and decided I'll save up for the actual DDI Rei, she's one of my all time favourite characters and the original doll has a special charm to it.

 

Doll-Love Sliver-goal ! Such a cute boy :-)

 

Soom got me into the hobby in general, but now I prefer fairyland sculpts-though I am forever weak for the weird implhouse resin colors.

 

hmmm... it's a tossup between leekeworld mikhaila or doll chateau's whole aesthetic? i think the former is what drew my attention initially but the latter kept me coming back for more, haha. my tastes have changed a lot since i first discovered the hobby but my love for doll chateau is eternal!

 

Dream of Doll. I think I saw a picture being used as a character picture in an online RP.

 

i dont remember the sculpt name, but i started really wanting a bjd after i saw one with a scary smile! he was a really cute boy to me if i could find the sculpt again, i’d make sure to add it to my wishlist.....

 

I think the first doll I loved was DoD Ducan. My mom didn't like him and I was super influenced by her tastes in those days, so I never got him. Sometimes I wish I had bought more DoD dolls while they were still open, but then I remember what an awful time I had getting my Black Elf Sha.

I like to believe I saw a photo of a Ducan on deviantart while searching for visual kei, and that doll was what got me into the hobby. A post I made here in 2009 contradicts that and my memory of 2008 is hazy, so I guess I'll never know which doll made me fall in love with this hobby.

 

I not find pictures on internet, or fell for a specific doll. My collegue told me about these dolls, and it blew me away. So It was the costumisation of the dolls, the hobby itself. (My first love was Loong Soul Aoyue, but today I Don't really like to own any of their dolls. Taste changing...)

 

I'm not sure if I first stumbled on BJDs in 05 or 06, but I know I joined my first group in early 06 and eventually made my way to DoA. I can't remember which dolls I saw first, but I know the first ones that pulled on me were Luts Lishe, Iplehouse Silvia, Soom Smokey Gena, and Lati's Censya. I never acquired any of them, though I figured out a lot of the features I liked through them. I don't have any real interest in hunting down any of these, as my taste has been fairly different (although I do have some of CP's Littlefees, a few Soom sculpts, and Iplehouse Grace...never found another Lati that spoke to me).

 

I can't recall which was the first ever doll, only that it was someone's owner pic that made it onto the front page of DeviantArt as a Daily Deviation. However the first BJD that got me into the hobby and made me want to save up for a doll was Souldoll Zenith Chiron, in gray skin. I was so amazed at the level of detail in the blushing and the outfit. It didn't help that at the time I was obsessed with the 1986 movie Labyrinth, and I thought that the human Chiron gave me major goblin king vibes without necessarily looking like him.

 

Distant Memory Jaeii, though I had a Dollshe before. Having Jaeii felt impossible at that time because no one sold him.

When Jaeii came I felt like someone with a soul moved it and that's it

 

Minifee Sircca followed by many

Jaeii one of the best sculpts to me!

 

The doll in my avatar, PlumeDoll's Luna. I love bugs, especially ants, even though I also find many of them somewhat frightening. To see a doll that reflected that really put a smile on my face! From the moment I saw her, I had to have her.

 

To me it was Ringdoll Wei Wuxian that got me into this community, I remember I was just randomly searching for a doll of Wei Wuxian because I love MDZS and found him in a coincidence. I do know that bjds exists at that time though, just never thought of owning one. I clicked the image and it took me to Ringdoll's official website. Unfortunately Wei Wuxian has been sold out, but other dolls had caught my eyes so I started browsing Ringdoll's website. And that was how I found my little boy. I clicked the 1/4 section and fell in love with Yumeo. Ordered him immediately and he is finally home after 5 months of waiting!

 

My friend/old roommate had a bjd I don't remember which one but it was a 1/4 and I remember being fascinated by him. Also looking up Crobidolls after playing Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ sealed the deal for me, especially Tei.

 

When I bought smart doll infinity from Tokyo as I fall in love how big and animated she looks as I collect a lot of anime figure and sort of she reminded me of Nami from one piece.
Then when I did more research, I found a whole new world
I fall in love immediately and start buying more dolls as I would say my favourite companies for dolls are Switch and Volks mainly but I love some doll lines from other companies too

 

Leekeworld Florence!! I was into pullips before I was into BJD and someone had recommended Leekeworld for wigs, so I checked it out and saw BJDs. I couldn't afford any at the time, but I was obsessed. Years later, I have a leekeworld Chloe, which is similar enough for me for now, but I'm on the hunt for that Florence.

 

Ringdoll Diyue, his face looked adorable to me. Also, I loved his hair color and eye color. I remember shopping around for my first BJD and I did a ton of looking around. I went on the Ringdoll site and seen him and immediately felt drawn to him. I think I thought about getting him for a few days because it was quite a big purchase to me, and I never ordered one before so I was unsure of the process. I ended up putting him on layaway and felt so excited that I was making payments on him. I would watch box opening videos on other dolls and would imagine what it would be like the day I would receive him. He is adorable to me still and I could never sell him. I got him as a full set so he came with his little uniform and umbrella, and at the time they had an event going on so I also got a little phone, tablet, psp, skateboard for him for free. Coolest thing ever for a first time buyer.

 

Dream of Doll Shall and Lahoo. Back then I didn't have the money so I tried my hand with a Pullip, and really fell in love with the hobby. However, my situation didn't improve at all and even had to give up on Pullip.

Fast forward 10-12 years later, I'm in a way better position now and finally managed to buy some BJDs. Unfortunately, DoD are not around anymore so I will never get them.



The first doll I bought was Senior Delf Luts Luna