What single thing can you blame for getting you into BJDs?

My boyfriend (now spouse) who kept bringing home Hobby Japan magazines in the late nineties. One of them had Volks 4 sisters in it, and we both were really interested in them.

 

I was at AKon in 2008 and saw someone with a Volks doll, the two of them in matching costumes and fell in love (I eased into the hobby by buying Obitsus at first before getting larger and more expensive dolls).

 

It all started when i was 13... xD
So yea my first year in a new school i met a girl 2 years older ten me and we became friends ect cuss we where huge anime nerds. One day she came to school telling me the post brought her a doll but it was intended to somebody else in her street. She told me she did some research on them. It where Pullips, she told me tey have anime inspired ones so ofcourse id had to chek. I then fell in love and pland on buying one. I liked the idea of customizing the doll so i looked up on yt how to do that. When sudenly i saw somebody doing a face-up on a bjd head... It was Nicolle's Dreams! I first as creeped out by the fact they looked so real. But after awhile i was in lovewith them. Then in 2015 i looked regulary on the secondhand market. There i saw a doll head being sold. I knew he was the one. After being kinda annoying to my gran i was allowed t buy it. 2 Hours riding to get it and 2 hours to go back home... Im car sick but it was worth it. I was so happy and showed him contantly, got kinda agresive if somebody wanted tp touch him tho... Well i started saying i would safe money to buy the body (from the same owner, it costed 300$) but it wouldv take me forever. So my granpa just said "come we will go get it". I was confused but he bought the body as a present for me!
Now not even 2 years later im almost owning 7 dolls ;w;...
And thats how it all happend xD

 

I've been a doll collector for over 12 years. A friend of me decided her Lonnie needed a new home where she would get more love and attention, and she send her to me.
I'm down that slippery slope now, wondering how to get her a family. (I guess I have to start with selling some of my other dolls...)

 

I've always liked dolls, but for BJDs, I can blame Andreja doing faceups on Youtube on her channel Nicolle's Dreams. A video of her doing a MH faceup appeared in my feed and I clicked, not expecting much, but it was like getting hit by a lightning bolt! My next video was her showing different outfits for a FL Chloe, and that was it. I immediately looked up Fairyland and became obsessed with BJDs. Were it not for the random algorithm that put that vid in my recommended, I wouldn't even know BJDs were a thing ^^ thank you, Andreja!

 

Angelic Layer. I fully blame Angelic Layer.

 

This forum, actually!!!

I first saw BJDs in high school, but there just wasn't the information-- the chatter, the hype, the encouragement-- whatever-- out there to make me feel like I needed one.

DoA was closed to new members for a looong time... I had seen it around, but without being able to join, I really didn't delve any farther into the hobby.

I was finally able to join March 28, 2016, and I bought my first BJD in April 2016-- that's no coincidence!

 

YOUTUBE lol. I collected other types of dolls but seeing these beauties online got me hooked

 

Probably Rozen Maiden and a fellow collector from Tumblr.
I started collecting Porcelain dolls after I watched RM (2010). It boosted my need for a doll since then. So I received my first Porcelain doll as a gift from my now in heaven great grandmother(2011). After that I received more as a gift because many friends had a ton a antique dolls which they were scared of or didn't find any use in. Of course, I bought some as well for cheap prices.
Thing is, I had always thought they were pretty rather than scary and the fact that I could customize and take care of them sounded even better. Then around 2013, while looking for RM stuff on Tumblr I discovered SWITCH dolls and holy jesus, that's when I decided I'd be getting a SWITCH doll as my first bjd ever.

I was (still am) really into BL so eventually I had this thing for cute boys with submissive expressions.
I was living in Mexico by then, so even if I worked my ass off for a doll I could never manage to save at least 3% of the price of the SWITCH doll I wanted, so I just window shopped for a couple years.

AND LAST YEAR-- When I moved here to USA I happened to see a FB post of someone selling the exact same sculpt I was looking for sooooo here ya' have me. I currently own two boys. An SD & Yo-SD and am very happy of what I've turned them into and am looking forward to this hobby for many more years (probably until my fujoshi heart stops)

 

Honestly I always had an interest for dolls but what sold me was an anime

 

Dollhouses! I love building and renovating them, but I really disliked the stiff, dollhouse dolls that were available. I stumbled upon the tiny ball jointed dolls, and now I am totally in love with them!

 

Anime conventions... Seeing others with these giant resin beauties made me want one of my own.

 

Hanging out on deviantArt in junior high did it for me. The first time I saw a photo set involving one of those beauties, I knew I needed one of my own. It took about six or seven years since that day before I could feasibly afford it, though... Still, I knew it was all worth it the day Zeke came home to me. I wouldn't have it any other way!

 

My friend found out about BJDs at a convention and bought one for herself back in highschool. since then I knew I needed one. I got my first one after I graduated, and have continued from there.

 

always loved creativity as a whole, and hobbies which let you be creative... and then my friend got a bjd back in 2010 (i was only 10 y/o haha), and I loved it so much I got my own, a doll-love night which now belongs to my sister...

 

I actually don't remember what triggered my finally making the decision to buy my first doll.
I do remember how I first found out about them, though. There was an article about abjds in a manga magazine called Shojo Beat (anyone remember that mag?). The customization aspect grabbed me right away. After that, bjds floated around in the back of my mind for a few years...
I think also seeing pictures of people's dolls on DeviantArt got me further interested in the hobby, actually. Then, somewhere around 2010 I said, "OK, I'm gonna get one!"

 

The YouTuber Swandzz (PintSizedPalace) I already liked them but she got me obsessed

 

Doll Chateau! My grandma has always been into dolls (Barbies, porcelain dolls, etc) but I didn't know about ABJDs until I saw one on Pinterest and thought "Holy sh** that's a nice doll". And then thought "holy hell that's expensive". But DC dolls stayed in my heart for the Tim Burton-esque aesthetic. Maybe I'll get one.. one day!

 

I can't remember what got me into them the first time. But I had eventually lost interest when I came to the conclusion that I would never be able to afford one. Several years later I think I saw them again on Tumblr, and remembered just how much I had wanted one, but I brushed it off again, still unable to afford one. And then one year at a convention, I decided to check out the doll portion, and fell in love with a Soom Feny and Necy, who they had on display at the time, though at the time I didn't know what company they were from. So the search began, and during the process of trying to find them I fell in love with so many others. And when I realized I had enough money to purchase one, the real challenge began.

 

An old friend of mine, when we were about 11 was gushing about a doll her older sister wanted to get, I googled it and had a look and it was like a new world opened up to me, but being 11 and not earning any money I waited until I finally took the plunge at 21

So I'd basically blame that girl for showing me a picture ~

 

Anime conventions. I was a pretty regular con-goer in the early 2000s, and I saw my first BJD at a con in 2004. Instant love.

 

Instagram! Browsing the explore page I spotted a minifee that was the most beatiful thing I had ever seen and I had to learn more!

 

Salem, Massachusetts!

Back in 2007 I was visiting for Halloween and I saw a small group of people walking around with these large "creepy" dolls riding on their shoulders like children.

I thought to myself, "I have to find and get one of these creepy dolls!"

I thought they were something festive sold in one of the touristy shops of Salem and went into every store looking for one. I finally gave up and asked the group where they had bought them and they simply told me "online."

At the time I had no idea what a BJD was, so I just started out with an online search for "creepy dolls," hours later I finally stumbled into the wonderful world of Ball Jointed Dolls

 

For me, it was Instagram. I originally saw BJDs back in 2006 or so, but I was too young to even think about this hobby. However, lots of things have changed in the roughly 11 years since I had previously been interested. One day Monster High dolls showed up on my Instagram, I got interested, then someone showed a faceup on a BJD...and I remembered wanting one in middle school. From that point on, I've been researching and loving this hobby. ​

 

Instagram was it for me, too. I'd known about bjds for years before, but never thought I could afford one. Then one day, I saw a Resinsoul Mei and fell in love with her and her price. After joining the hobby about 3 years ago, I now have 8 dolls with 1 incoming, plus a body for one of my two floating heads.

 

I'll have to list two. First is cu-poche Alice.
I've been collecting scale figures since around 2007-8, but haven't really thought about figures that you could dress up.

And this blog entry. A doll collector modified their cu-poche figure to be able to fit glass eyes and a wig.

I'm happy with obitsus for now but I wouldn't mind getting a brownie in the far distant future if I'm not content with just the one I'm getting.

 

Probably my little pony? it led me to monster high which led me to BJD's.
I'm going to say it's my utter disdain for money apparently though. lol

 

Instagram for me too, all those stunning photos and I was completely sucked in!

 

I blame randomly browsing the internet as a kid.
I don't know what I was looking up, but it connected me to DeviantART, and while on that site, I found out about ABJDs.

 

I think it was Youtube! Specifically, finding Andreja's Faceup Stories series. I had known about BJDs beforehand, but I never had any particular interest in them beyond "Oh, these are pretty." But oddly enough, seeing the process behind painting them made me really want them, as well as seeing her collection... Even if her collection really isn't to my personal taste at this point in time. And I've blossomed out to following and being inspired by other people in the hobby as well for what sculpts I like and what I hope to do with my dolls when I get one, but she still holds the honor of being the one to get me into the hobby, though not like she intentionally did it.

 

Well, I was looking for pictures of "short black hair green eye girl" for a character of mine on WeHeartIt and a bjd came up. That was the start of it. I followed the linked tags until I found a whole page of stunning dolls. I was pulled in, and there was no way to leave this rabbit hole. I looked up dolls on insta and found some people redid Monster High dolls, so i started out small with those and practiced faceups on them until I managed to get my first doll last year.

 

I collected Pullips and Blythes for quite a while and the cross over between those dolls and Bjds is what first got me interested in them. I saw other peoples amazing photographs and finally got into the Bjd hobby.

 

I've known of BJDs for a few years, occasionally seeing them pop up on the internet, but it wasn't until I got into cosplay that I realized how much I enjoy making clothes and just creating something with my hands. Someone I followed on twitter posted a picture of their BJD and the clothes they had sewn themselves and suddenly I realized I could make clothes without having to spent as much money on the material!! That's when I decided to search more about this and I ended up falling in love with this hobby

 

I've been a big fan of watching people mod barbies/monster high/anything where they strip the factory paint off a doll, re-root her hair and transform them into their OCs or another character doll, so I originally wanted to get into that. Then when looking up doll modding I found bjd's and immediately fell in love with a doll chateau sculpt. The rest is history >w>

 

For me, getting into the hobby was sprung up by a family friend. After seeing her BJD, I admired the hobby for years. Facing my mothers disapproval only fired my desire more to get one!

 

Honestly, for me it was years of playing online games.. you can design your character in the beginning: you choose body type, skin color, face type, hairstyle and color, eye color etc. This can be very detailed sometimes, and it was my favorite part. For example it took me a full week to create my character in Blade&Soul XD. Also the main objective for me was always "getting that outfit". That’s why stumbling on the idea of creating my own characters in real life in form of dolls was a light bulb moment and I’ve been obsessed ever since.

 

I came across a photo of a BJD while searching for lolita dresses quite a few years ago~ I've only just bought my first doll after a lot of mulling over whether it would be worth it or not

 

Congrats! Ordered my second today, yey! =)

 

2003 - my then high school friend showed me a Super Dolfie on a website we couldn't understand or figure out how to navigate. Have been on and off looking at them since then, finally able to splurge and get one THIS YEAR!!! Only took a decade O.O lol

 

My friend was complaining about how weird DC proportions are and sent me this ( http://www.doll-chateau.com/Uploadfiles/20150714103457663.jpg ) picture of DC Lilly to prove his point. I fell in love instantly and I now have her on layaway.

 

For me, it was anime conventions. I’d walk around and see these absolutely gorgeous dolls dressed in all sorts of cosplays. It took me a while to actually buy a doll but they have kinda been in the back of my mind since then.

 

I wanted to shell my favourite roleplay characters, and customised fashion dolls just weren't doing it for me. Years and years ago I remember having seen a limited edition doll (no idea what company it was, it was a LE doll with a fullset and I think he might have been a pirate? He cost 700 or so just for the doll and I think when you added the fullset and faceup it came to around 1000) who looked almost identical to my favourite OC. So, when I got into customising fashion dolls and realised they'd never look enough like my RP characters I thought back to that gorgeous bjd I'd seen and decided to leap into the hobby.

 

I've always loved porcelain dolls, and been fond of the bisque jointed historical dolls, and then one day I discovered there was a modern made ball jointed doll. I was super excited, until I saw the price tag. But I finally decided to go through with a purchase when I saw one with the sweetest face, and I fell in love. So I took the money I had been saving for extras, and bought her. So yep. I'm super visual, and fell for her the moment I saw her.

 

Never sort from Highest to Lowest Price on Ebay. I was trying to find an Irish Dance costume for Barbie and ended up buying a BJD 5ish years later and a resin BJD 2ish years after that.

 

I blame...no, I THANK the internet for my entry into the world of bjd's. I saw a picture of one floating around once, and one day I got a job and could finally afford one. So I bought two at once haha. No regrets.

 

I randomly saw pictures of BJDs on dA every now and then... But never really cared too much...
Then I saw a DZ Yuu for the first time! *-* I fell in love right away... He was the reason I started saving up money... That was shortly before I graduated... So I got myself my first BJD as a graduating gift.. Though I started with an MSD instead of the Yuu since a 70cm doll at that time was waaaay to expensive... But still he and my graduation are the reasons I point at if someone asks me why I started and got myself my first one! X3

 

Instagram! For some reason on my personal account bjds kept popping up on the explore page and I had seen them a few years ago and thought I would never be able to get one cuz of the cost but when I saw them again on Instagram and decided to look into them again and here we are lol. I made an Instagram for bjds too which I've had for about 7 months now!

 

I blame my friends.

 

The first time I ever saw a ball jointed doll was in the anime "Another" and I thought they were so cool. A few years later I was on Youtube and a monster high custom video was recommended to me and after stalking some doll Instagrams I learned about BJD's once again and knew I had to have one.

 

My mom died when I was 14 and I had been looking at these dolls online. I showed my dad these pictures and he thought I was crazy. Fast forward three years, I was getting ready to go into college and had been saving up for school when I found out I had been given three scholarships for my local university. I took the small amount extra I had after books and bought my first BJD and the rest is history. I have been in the hobby since then. I am graduated and looking into getting my master, and while school may have ended, my time in the hobby has not, I have loved having my dolls around and will continue to do so for years to come.

 

My best friend and worst influence, Dubious. She and her partner collect them and I really loved their dolls... eventually, she helped me to buy my first doll. She payed for part, and I payed for part... and She and her partner even payed for a new face-up for her for my birthday one year!

I probably would have just admired from afar if not for that... now I have two and I'm trying to pull my boyfriend into the hobby as well!

 

The one I blame is Benedict Cumberbatch XD I learnt about BJD when I was 12-13 y.o. but never thought of getting one cause of price. But when I becam Benedict's fan and saw his minimee, I knew I had to have him XD so I had, but now he is only my BJD

 

I blame Deviantart. I was searching for something else and stumbled upon a bunch of gorgeous bjd pictures. I'd never seen dolls like that before, so I checked the description/the photographer's profile to find out what they were and eventually found out about Angell-Studio, Junkie Spot, DoA and a whole bunch of other sites.

 

I blame Google images x) I was looking at custom fashion dolls on the internet and some BJD pictures popped up in the results. At the beginning, I thought they were very detailed anime figures as the first ones I saw were cosplays of famous manga characters. But of course, I was curious so I did a lot of research, learned more about them, discovered different sculpts... and here we are now!

 

My friend got me into them and let me hold her YOSD girl. I started to look up pictures of BJDs and binge-watch doll channels (Swandzz, Denali Wind, Nicole’s Dream). Then I decided that I really wanted one lol

 

Lee Pace. Indirectly, of course, but searching for a Thranduil doll led me to where I am now. Dollies everywhere.

 

Writing :P
I was writing a story about a Blythe doll (even tho i never owned one and probably never will) and was searching for pictures of a doll i had a 'vision' of, and it made me stumble upon a Doll shop in my country and they where a BJD dealer! xD

 

Ryoko Mitsukis works made a fan of dols because she had dolls and showed in her manga x3 this was 10 years ago x3 but only 1-2 years since i can have dolls x_x

 

Anime Expo 2006 X( They had a glass display of them, and I ran into a few people caring around SD size ones. I was a lost cause after that. XDDDD

 

For me...Pullips.

Some time back, when I was still actively collecting Pullips, I remember learning about bjds through interacting with other folks on some of the old Pullip forums, especially PullipStyle. They had their own version of an off-topic section for discussion about non-Pullip dolls, and people often talked about bjds amongst other types of dolls. The first time I saw a bjd in person was through a fellow Pullip collector.

It just went downhill from there.