Your BJD Journey!

What a neat topic!!

I started getting into the hobby around late 2006 - I was only like, 13 at that time! I forget really how I came across BJDs... I was a member on deviantART and was browsing the front page, and a picture of this doll came up. I said to myself, "wow, what is that?" and did some research on BJDs. I quickly fell in love with them, of course, and planned on getting my first one that year. Of course, I was still 13, and to shell out over $100 on a doll was a lot - especially for my parents. I asked and asked, saved up the money myself, and finally after much groveling I was able to purchase my own doll - a Dollmore Kid Boy Paran! I ordered him on February 21st, 2007, and he arrived March 6th! (I had to check the dates on the box opening photos to be sure..) I came home from school that day to a big box on the kitchen table. My parents were actually excited about it - considering all the trouble I had to go through to get him!

After that, I'd had Hayden for about 4 years, and I went to an anime convention in 2011 that has a relatively large BJD presence. (I've been going to this con for ~5 years) A rep from Islanddoll was at the marketplace (where owners would sell their dolls, plus a couple reps), and they had a bunch of tinies for sale. I kept going back to the Islanddoll Kevin, and finally I decided I'd buy him. Upon taking him home, I got an "oh boy" from my parents, but they weren't upset or anything! Thus is how I got my second doll, 4 years after the first. This doll underwent some bigger changes than Hayden - I decided I preferred the character much better as a girl, but still liked the doll I had. For some reason it never occurred to me to sell the Islanddoll, but rather to give him a girl faceup and longer wig. So, I did that, and I love the design of her.

In the summer of 2012, I went through a phase where I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep my dolls or not. After a lot of debate, I put up a feeler to sell Hayden. No hits. I wasn't totally sure if I wanted to sell him anyways - I'd gone through so much trouble to get him all that time ago. So I took down the feeler and kept him. It was kind of tough for me to be in the hobby - I lived in a small town and I only knew of one other person who collected BJDs, and though we were friends for a while, we grew apart. Not having other friends around made it a little difficult to stay!

I moved to Ottawa, Ontario in the fall of 2012 to go to school, and didn't bring my dolls with me. Halfway through the year, I stumbled across a proboards forum for BJD collectors in Ottawa, and joined. The members are a close-knit group of friends, and they hold monthly meetups as well. Next time I went home to visit, I grabbed my dolls, and went to a meet a few weeks later. There my love for BJDs was rekindled~ I was so excited to be around a lot of BJDs, and have many friends close by who collect them (and enable me to want more).

So, 7 years after starting the hobby, I still only have the two dolls mentioned above. But I'm in the works to possibly get another one. My birthday's coming up soon, so I'm thinking I will save some potential birthday money towards a new doll. When I started the hobby, I was wary about SD sized dolls - thinking they'd be too big. So I stuck to an MSD. I wasn't too big on the tinies at first either - honestly with my first doll purchase I was concerned about the price, but I also didn't want something too small, so I settled for an average-priced MSD. Later, I got a tiny, since I still wasn't sure about SDs - mainly because of price. I was somehow uncomfortable with purchasing the head and body separate, which is why I also stayed away from SDs (I could get one, but I'd likely have to get the head and then the body). But now, I really love SDs and I'm thinking I will get an SD next.

When I was younger, since I didn't know anyone in the hobby, I got a default faceup on my first doll. It was nice, but I now appreciate getting faceups done by other artists rather than always getting the default. (Unless if someone likes the default, which I do on many cases!)

In 7 years, I've changed a lot, my hobbies have changed a lot, but one thing that's stayed constant is my love for BJDs. Though I've had some fluctuations in the love, I really truly love my dollies and can't wait to get a third .

 

Oh~ that's such an interesting topic~ >v< let me tackle this then!

I've been in the BJD hobby actively since September 2011 so this means two years and a month almost! However my BJD journey starts several years ago in the autumn of 2004 where I first stumbled across a beautiful Unoa Lusis on the web. I was fourteen years old at the time and had no means to save up for the doll of my dreams -who after a lot of poking around what sites I could find at the time ended up being a Dream of Doll Yen- and when I asked my parents about helping me save for him I was gently declined because he was too expensive and neither of them had any knowledge of ordering online.

Fast forward to the summer of 2011 I was left with a nice sum of money from working and my birthday and nothing to do with it so when I was pondering if I should just save it aside or invest in something for myself I so happened to realize it should be enough for a doll and being old enough by that time I really didn't need to ask anyone in order to go through with the purchase, so putting my fund aside I got to hardcore researching, looking for the doll that was going to be my first. I had picked a Dollzone Aimi at the time but when I was about to purchase her I stumbled on the Doll Leaves Wish in the suggested items on ebay and needless to say I was had. You wouldn't believe my excitement when he first came home and I held him in my hands! All this while later I still own him and have no plans of ever letting him go.

Not a week after ordering my best friend decided to join me in the hobby and boy what a crazy ride this has been! I can't remember the last time I was so excited about anything at all, but planning doll families with her, stories, plotlines, roleplaying our doll characters together, undertaking faceup and mod projects... it has been the greatest time of my life. My second doll, and brother to my first, a Luts Kid delf Bory joined our little family but a month later, together with my friend's girl from the same company that came with a gorgeous second head that would be made into a separate character. These four became the core of one string of a storyline that was going to soon develop into a full-blown epic with the introduction of an Organization that didn't take long to happen, their first member crashing the little ones' party when he was sent to investigate about the strange creatures that kept up appearing. A few months later, in February 2012 that one person, C, my Luts Super Senior Delf Avalanche joined the growing resin family.

In between this point and the next I received an off-topic Hujoo Dana as a gift who I let move on very quickly due to being unable to bond with her at all. She was gifted to a wonderful friend, however, who has been taking great care of her ever since. I also received a crobidoll Marisol who I also let go for very similar reasons on top of needing some more money still.

He was followed by two of the limited Crobidoll T-line tinies three months later. Originally I was only going to buy one although I had liked the two I bought ever since the beginning and the second wormed his way in later as he'd be impossible to find secondhand, his more mature look neglected in favor of the other T-lines' cute charm.

In August 2012 I found a really good deal on the marketplace and was able to separately afford the head and body of a doll I never thought I could own. She was my dollfie dream Aoi 1st edition and her body an old-school Obitsu 60 without all the fancy good stuff of the newer bodies. Just managing to create a system to hold her head on her neckpiece was very very taxing but it was all worth it. It should be mentioned that I used to find dollfie dreams extremely unnerving and kind of... void of emotion when I first joined the hobby and only started becoming interested in them after a good long while in it.

The last doll I received on 2012 was Yui, my Crobidoll Daydream Lance V.2 who arrived home as an early christmas present on December 19th. Him being a grail doll of mine I could hardly believe my luck at all, having found an amazing deal on him as well.

2013 has so far seen the addition of a doll I wanted since his release, the Doll Chateau Hugh, and my tiny Lati Yellow Mystic Noa from the recent bat children release with three dolls and a pair of heads (one of which being an event head) incoming and a fourth doll planned to be ordered on a long layaway due to end in March 2014.

That is all, not accounting the various heads that came up through the years and stuck around, two of them completing my grail doll triad to boot. Some of them were event heads, some of them were lucky finds and mod projects... My doll collection is very big to say the least. Way bigger than what I had originally planned it to be, and yet strangely enough I find myself regretting nothing.

And now for a quick rundown of what I actually own in the chronological order in which they were attained:

Nowe Alfbjörn - Doll Leaves Wish - through Jeeryama, 10/2011
Lucifer - Luts SDF Wintery 2009 (head only) - secondhand, 01/2012
"C" Cadence Landolt - Luts SSDF Avalanche - through Luts, 02/2012
Choi Hyo-Ri - Fairyland Minifee Shushu (head only) - secondhand, 04/2012
Finnick - Crobidoll T-line Wooyu - through Dolkworld, 05/2012
Hellel - Immortality of Soul Sezz (head only) - secondhand, 05/2012
Arystar - Crobidoll T-line Coffee - through Dolkworld, 08/2012
Irie - Volks Dollfie Dream Aoi 1st on old Obitsu 60 body - secondhand, 08/2012
Saint - Crobidoll Yujin (head only) - through Dolkworld, 11/2012
Yui - Crobidoll DD Lance V2 - secondhand, 12/2012
Mephistopheles - Doll Chateau Hugh - through Alice's Collections, 03/2013
Rayleigh Caelan Bennett - Immortality of Soul Chaos (head only) - secondhand, 04/2013
Damon Wells - Switch Seoha mod. (head only) - secondhand, 05/2013
Mirai - Volks Dollfie Dream DDH-03 mod (head only) - through Yahoo Japan Auctions, 05,2013
Cinder - Withdoll Fenrir (head only) - secondhand, 08/2013
Aragaki Aoya - Unoa Sist face & buff headback (head only) - through Noppin, 08/2013
Suzuran - Lati Yellow Myst Bat Child Noa - through Dolkworld, 09/2013
Arisu - Lati Yellow Suji (head only) - event head, 09/2013
Eien Alfbjörn - Luts KDF Summery 2013 (head only) - secondhand, 09/2013
Caspian Ackerman - Withdoll Mai - through Withdoll, waiting...
Neferata Lavinia Scarlet - Fairyland Minifee M-Line Ante - through DDE, waiting...
Ealdred Hartley - Dollzone Hal - through Jeeryama, on layaway
Orpheus - Dollzone Freddy-1 - event head, waiting...
Kouki Volks MDD/ DDS M.O.M.O (body home, head only) - through Volks International, waiting...
Cecil Bennett - Fairyland Minifee Luka - through DDE, on layaway

This has been an amazing journey and I got to meet wonderful people -not only online, but rather recently offline as well! Greece is a small country, and there being less people here also means even less people know anything at all about these dolls... and yet we have managed to put together a tiny group of people already and we're growing which is definitely something to be proud of in my opinion.

My tastes have changed a lot since I first started, but rather than favoring different dolls than I did at first I'm only opening wider to accept as many as I can no matter how different. It's strange but I can never dislike any doll for too long. I eventually grow accustomed to it and even start liking it afterwards.

Over everything I really can't wait for all the good times to come and am wholeheartedly hoping I will never stop feeling happy and excited about all the dolls, and awed and always surprised by the depth of the creativity of the owners in this community. Some of the most wonderful things I've ever seen in my life are often things pertainning to dolls, I'm glad and I'm proud to be a BJD owner.

 

I was introduced to BJDs when my friend Mino came home from visiting family in Japan with her first pair of Volks girls. That was in ... 2001 or 2002, I think? I looked them over and thought they were interesting, but not really my kind of thing. Those early sculpts were very anime-influenced and I just didn't care for their faces. It wasn't until Mino bought her CP El in the autumn of 2005, and sent me a link to Luts' web site that I found dolls I liked well enough to consider buying myself... Which I did a couple of months later. I joined DoA in January 2006, while I was waiting.

My first (Who I honestly thought at the time would be my only-) was a CP/Delf Shiwoo Special. His second, dreaming head was only supposed to be a seldom-used alternate... a spare that I thought would spent most of its time packed away in a box. When I got the doll, though, the face-ups on the two heads were completely different. So different that there was no way they'd ever pass as the same 'person'... So I bought the dreaming head a body of its own from the marketplace here, and called the pair twins. My first "One" turned out to be be two.

I had Harumatsu and Tien Jen for about a month before I went to my first meet at a local doll shop called Dolls & Friends. I met a few people there who eventually became friends, and was introduced to the first Dollshe I'd ever seen... Leeda's Hound, Carrus. It wasn't long after that I ordered my third doll; a Hound of my own. The first girl in the House, Daisy (a CP Dark Human Soo), was the fourth. I originally bought her simply to be a practice head, with no intention of ever getting her a body or making her a regular member of the crew. (I had convinced myself that I didn't really want any girl dolls. A conviction that only lasted until Daisy got her first face-up and FlyingCodeMonkey insisted on giving her a name. <_<) Nightengale, my first character doll, and first extensively modified one, came next. I had him turned into a resin version of a favorite anime character, with a massive ear mod and clawed hands. Teacup, my Elf Shiwoo and the doll I consider something of a grail, is also from that era.

Of those early dolls, the only one who isn't still here is Seimei, the Hound. Though I loved his face and those gorgeous, gorgeous Hound hands, I never really made peace with his body sculpt. I could hardly get him to stand, and so never spent much time tinkering with him.

Over the next few years, I collected mostly Cerberus Project sculpts. I took a lot of pictures. I played around with a "shared world" setting and storyline with a couple of friends (and subsequently discovered that that sort of thing just isn't for me-), and I went to a lot of meets. I think of that as my Social Period, as well as my most serious collecting period. A lot of the crew, including almost all of the CP/Delfs, my first Micro-scale Tiny (a Banji), my first Volks doll (my much-beloved Amakusa, Hideo) and my first Soom (Vincent, my non-hooved Heliot) came along between 2006 and 2009.

In 2010, I looked around at the gang and came to a conclusion, though... After having quite a few of them for several years, I decided that I really hated the way CP's Beauty White resin aged. It either went butter-yellow or a sickly shade of green no matter how carefully the dolls had been handled and hidden from the sun, and not being a fan of either color, I didn't want a horde of them in my collection. I kept a few favorites who happened to be BW, but sold on the majority of my dolls that color. It nearly halved my collection.

Afterwards, I suddenly found myself with a lot of space for new dolls again... Not to mention a nice chunk of money from so much selling. I bought my display cabinets with some of those funds. Over the last several years, the rest has gone into what I'd call my Diversification Period. I've added a few more Soom dolls to the collection, some favorites from Volks, a number of Luts sculpts, a trio of Iple House EIDs, a very unique sculpt from Bishonen House called Steve, a Doll Chateau Dolores and a pair of staggeringly tiny Dream High micros, as well as some of the newer CP dolls from Fairyland. I've picked new sizes, beyond the 1/3-scale Delfs I started with, and yes, I've even added in a couple of new dolls in Beauty White. They just didn't come from CP.

I'm not sure where I intend to go from here... I have the collection to a point I'm happy with, sculpt-wise. (If you're really curious about who I have, they're all listed on my profile page-) I may add new dolls if models are released that I like well enough, but I don't feel any particular desire to at this point. Maybe I'll start a Refinement Period, where I just concentrate on getting everyone exactly perfect outfits or entirely new face-ups or something. Maybe I'll start going to meets or taking a lot of pictures again, since it's been years since I did much of either.

 

It would take forever to do a timeline of my BJD journey (because it's been almost 9 years), but I would summarise it as such: I unknowingly bought my perfect doll as my first doll and everything since has been window dressing.

 

I'd seen BJD's in friends journals and I saw some in person once at a con, but I never thought that I'd be able to afford one or have one in house as the Hubby is pretty creeped out by them. I went to Ycon in 2008 and had saved hard/obsessively for almost a year and a half to go. I saw some dolls there (brought by Junkyspot) and loved the Catsy but felt that I couldn't spend $300 on such a small doll. I came home with money and the Hubby said that since I'd saved like a demon to go to Ycon, any money I brought back was mine to do what I wanted instead of going back into the household finances like I was going to do. I'm very cautious with my spending so I held onto it to decide what I really wanted. While deciding, I was browsing doll sites and stumbled upon AoD where I saw the Chi sculpt and right then and there, I knew that was Moswen (one of the characters from my novel, Balancing Karma). I hemmed and hawed and it was actually the Hubby who convinced me to get him. I got Moswen in late 2008 and the collecting hasn't stopped. I still own Moswen and he's still my favourite.

I also managed to pull one of my best friends into the hobby and while neither one of us thought we'd own maybe 2 or 3 dolls, we're both sitting at 20+ dolls.

I can't really say that my collection or my style of collecting has changed. I only buy dolls that are characters. I have never sold a doll and I only made 1 impulse purchase (RS Pixiu) that ended up working out well for my crew. I started out with just MSD's but now have tinies and SD's in my collection but that's because they fit the characters.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
Since 2004

What dolls have you sold?
None, aside from a couple of extra heads. (Which is why I have so many at this time. Or that's my excuse, anyway.)

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yes.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
Yes and no. More styles are offered now. I might have loved those styles if they had been around, right from the beginning. And I still love the old styles, too.

What doll do you own now?
Too many! Check my BJD site in my signature or my DoA Profile.

2004
-- First BJD, Delf Elf El, ws. Still love him.
2005
-- 2nd BJD (Delf Elf Lishe). No faceup offered, so I had to do my first.
-- First Meetup -- 30 people at the Huntington Gardens.
-- Meetup (Easter)
-- Meetup (AnimeExpo)
-- Meetup (San Diego Comic Con)
2006
-- Meetup (Valentine's Day, at PamSD's)
--3rd BJD, (CP Delf Elf Yder)
-- Meetup (Oceanside, Ellen Fuller organizer)
-- Event (Volks Tea Party at the L.A. Mansion), 'won' 4th BJD (One-off Shiro Tachibana)
-- Meetup (Worldcon L.A.)
-- Meetup (Tea at Huntington Library, Aimee Steinberger organizer)
-- Event (Volks Halloween Party at the L. A. Mansion)
2007
-- Meetup (Cloudtrader's Party)
-- Meetup (Escondido, Ellen organizer)
-- Meetup (Pasadena Picnic)
-- Meetup (San Diego, Ellen organizer)
-- BJDs Bambicrony MB Kumi Elf and LSG Pepe Elf
-- Meetup (San Diego Comic Con, Robin organizer)
-- Published BJD photo in magazine (Fashion Doll Quarterly) of my Luts Delf Juri '05, (Mercy Neumark organizer)
-- Meetup (GenCon)
-- Meetup (Elfdoll Artmaze Store, Ms Cholong org.)
-- Meetup (Halloween Potluck at PamSD's house)
-- Event (Volks L. A. Dollpa)
-- Meetup (Elfdoll Artmaze Store Christmas party, Ms Cholong org.)
2008
-- BJD (Tinybear Bracken)
-- Meetup (Elfdoll Artmaze Store, Valentine Party, Ms Cholong org.)
--BJD (Elfdoll/Charles Alice Cherry Blossom Gothic Hoody v.2, Ms Cholong org.)
-- Meetup (Elfdoll Artmaze Store, Easter Party, Ms Cholong org.)
-- Meetup (PamSD Spring potluck)
-- Meetup (Re-Stringing)
-- Meetup (Renaissance Pleasure Faire)
-- BJD (TinyBear Moona)
-- Meetup (San Diego Comic Con, Robin org.)
-- Meetup (GenCon)
-- BJD (Soom MD Sard)
2009
-- BJD (Luts Zuzu Delf Duke Lio)
-- Meetup (Anime LA)
-- Meetup (Elfdoll Artmaze Valentine party, Ms Cholong org.)
-- Meetup (Royal-T Alice in Wonderland Party)
-- BJD (Soom MD Euclase)
-- Meetup (Artmaze DollHeart party, Ms Cholong org.)
-- Meetup (San Diego Comic Con, Robin org.)
-- Meetup (Royal-T Candyland themed Party)
-- Meetup (Artmaze DollHeart summer party, Ms Cholong org.)
-- Event (1st San Diego BJD Mini-Con, Bruce org.)
2010
-- Event (1st Central California BJD Con, Aichan org.)
-- Meetup (Little Tokyo Tea House)
-- BJD (Iplehouse EID NC Tedros)
-- Meetup (San Diego Comic Con, Robin org.)
-- BJD (Kaye Wiggs Blue Koneko)
-- Meetup (Earth Spirits Theme Party)
-- Event (San Diego BJD Con 2nd, Bruce org.)
-- BJD (Iplehouse SID NC Theo)
-- BJD (Soom MD Heliot)
2011
-- BJD (IOS Blood)
-- Meetup (DollHeart US, Ms Cholong org.)
-- BJD (Fairyland Realpuki Aki)
-- Meetup (Mad Hatter Party)
-- Meetup (Party at the Pub, Gayle org.)
-- Meetup (PieceMakers Tea)
-- Published (FDQ Magazine-- my dolls, photospread by Mercy Neumark)
-- Meetup (San Diego Comic Con, Robin org.)
-- BJD (IOS S)
-- Meetup (GenCon)
-- BJD (Soom MD Ender)
-- BJD (Soom Auber)
-- Event (3rd San Diego BJD Con, Haunted New Orleans theme, Bruce org.)
2012
--Meetup (CA Dolly Dreams, Ms Cholong org.)
-- BJD (Pipos R. Derek)
-- Meetup (Volks, Mitsuwa)
-- Meetup (Solvang)
-- BJD (Kaye Wiggs White Faun Nelly)
-- BJD (Dollmore Nayuta Kenzo ltd.)
-- BJD (Fairyland Realpuki Soso)
-- BJD (Soom Aphan)
-- Event (2nd Central Calif. BJD Con)
-- BJD (Souldoll Souloid Iraki)
-- BJD (Ringdoll Frankenstein, v.1)
-- BJD (DollChateau Alberta)
-- BJD (FiveStarDolls Aiden)
-- Event (BJDC, Austin, TX)
-- BJD (Iplehouse EID Carina)
-- Meetup (CA Dolly Dreams, Ms Cholong org)
-- Meetup (YaoiCon)
-- Event (San Diego BJD Con)
2013
-- BJD (Soom Metato)
-- BJD (DollsTown Seola)
-- BJD (Dearmine Cocoa Dune)
-- Meetup (Irvine park)
-- BJD (Dreamhigh Studio Nox)
-- Meetup (Santa Barbara, park)
-- BJD (Granado Charles)
-- BJD (RamCube Kyle)
-- BJD (Soom MD Beast)
--Photos of my dolls in FDQ Magazine
-- Meetup (CA Dolly Dreams, Ms Cholong org.)
-- BJD (JollyPlus Arbor)
-- Meetup (San Diego Comic Con, Robin, org.)


...and that's not even everything!

EDIT>


2014
-- BJD (Dearmine Heather)
-- BJD (Lumedoll Ceid Ara)
--Ringdoll Meetup
-- BJD (Mirodoll [drow])
-- Korean BJD Show in Los Angeles
--BJD (Crobi Scarlett one-off)
-- BJD (BND White Tiger one-off)
-- BJD (Crobi Leo)
--Dollism Plus US
--BJD (Vertales Vert)
--BJD (Dearmine Bean)
-- San Diego BJD Con (Fairytales theme)

2015
-- BJD (Sugarble Naga)
--BJD (Peakswoods Mad Hatter)
--BJD (Pipos Tomo)
--BJD (Dearmine Nocturn)
--BJD (Dearmine Lupy)
--BJD (Iplehouse Eva)
--Volks L.A. Dollpa
--San Diego BJD Con (Roaring '20s)

2016
-- BJD (Granado Neptune)
--BJD (Dearmine Cocoa Bean)

 

What a fun thread!

Okay lets see..

How many years have you been in the hobby? Only a few months, but I've been looking at bjd pictures for years.What dolls have you sold?

Do you still own any of your first few dolls? I only have one resin bjd and I just got him a few weeks ago. I will never ever sell him.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting? Well I do realize now that I am mainly an anthro girl. I do miss kind of joining in on here with most of the ladies who have MSD (that's the next size I want), but I don't think I'll ever have more than one or two human girls. Anthros are just more of what I lean towards and really want a collection of.


What doll do you own now? I only have a Mushroom peddler Squeak the rat.

 

It might take me the rest of my life to track down every doll I bought and sold since 2008 (09 technically, since that's when I sold a doll for the first time) but I can answer the questions!

How many years have you been in the hobby?
I use May of 2008 as my start date, since that's when my first doll arrived, but I started doing the research and searching like a fiend in fall 07 (I printed out the pages off the nets of what would be my first doll, it had the date on it so I even know the date I found him XD Nov 11)

So about 6 I guess. 5 1/2 if you want to get picky.

What dolls have you sold?
Omg I have no idea. If I sat here for hours and retraced my BJD history I could figure it out, but I don't have the brainpower atm lol
The first doll I sold was a Dollzone Shoyo. Of the dolls 8 I bought in 2008 I still have 4. I sold a huge amount of the ones I bought in 09...and that's how the pattern goes. If they don't work out for what I wanted, if I don't do anything with them, and if they don't make me happy by just sitting there collecting dust, they move to the "Chopping Block". I've probably sold at least as many as I currently own....possibly more.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yes! In the first year I was in BJDs I still own:
Dollmore Kara Klum (first doll!)
B&G Ymir (only his head, I bought him a new body a while back)
B&G Sapphira (also got a new body, though I still have his old one - it's one of my favs XD)
Migidoll Ryu (went through a half dozen bodies XD)
Dollmore Thinking Kara Klum (bought as a head - went through two bodies)
Leeke D Bebe (bought as a head - went through two bodies)
Dollmore Pado
Dollmore Cold Heartbroken Kara Klum LE
Resinsoul Song
CP Delf Sleeping Vampire Breakaway (went through about four bodies I think)

That was just the first year. May08 - April09
In 09 I got an Iplehouse Kamau and a Dollmore Glamor Model Ripley Days (both LE) that I still have, every other doll I bought in that year I sold. When I talk about my "first dolls" it starts with Kara Klum and ends with my Breakaway. Everyone after that is still "new" lol
Sometimes I think of my MD Miho as in that group, as I bought a Miho in Feb 09 but sold him, went through 5 other heads for that character before buying another Miho....He has the same faceup, eyes, wig and wardrobe (he's NS now and has a better body though lol) so sometimes I like to pretend the first one never left....

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
Yes and no.
My fist four dolls (I don't count the one I sold) were very stylized (B&G), realistic (Migidoll) and a good mix of the two (Dollmore).
If you've not glanced at my profile ever I'll just say I'm slightly Kara Klum-crazy....the rest of my dolls revolve around them like the Sun/Solar system (the further out into the universe they get the greater chance they have of getting sold). Because of that, and because he's an in-between, I can go with almost any style of doll, but I'm not a huge fan of the super-realistic. Most Iplehouse and Soom dolls would never work for me.

I started buying other sizes, like tinies as I went on....I've found that I like all sizes at this point (70cm the least, but they have their merits) and go through phases where X size is my favorite.

What really changed is that as Volks started getting more realistic with their styles I started liking their older dolls that I had never cared for more and more.....the same goes for other companies. It's nice, because as other collectors fight over the newest, greatest thing released as an LE they sell off their older molds....and I can buy them!

Other than that, I'm still a middle-of-the-road person when it comes to doll styles and the type of doll I like to buy.

What doll do you own now?
Oh I'm not listing that here! lol check my profile. That's what it's there for XD

What isn't mentioned is that I feel a huge part of my "Journey" is what I learned to do with and to my dolls. Faceups, mods, wig making....all these things have a huge impact on every aspect of the hobby for me, and certainly with the dolls I buy. If I hadn't started doing my own faceups I wouldn't have owned so many dolls - it would have been too expensive to have them all customized....and the wait for each one to get done would have killed me. I've actually bought new dolls because I got bored and needed more to customize! I could have owned just a few....I might have stopped with my Breakaway or never have gotten to him if I hadn't got into that aspect of the hobby, the need to see if and just how many of my characters I can create is my driving force lol

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
Eh. I ordered my first doll in June 2011, so ... a little over two years. As soon as I had figured out what those amazing dolls were that I kept seeing on deviantART, I was lost.

What dolls have you sold?
Just the one. I am very, very bad at parting with dolls. Somehow I seem to stick to what I buy... The one doll I sold was a gift doll that came with one of my MSDs, and it just really wasn't my style. As a consequence, I didn't have a clue about what to do with her, and I sold her to someone I knew and into whose collection she fits perfectly. I'm very happy about the sale because I felt bad about not doing anything with the little dollie.

I haven't sold a single one of the dolls that I have actually bought. I will probably sell an incoming head though - I only bought it for the body, which isn't sold separately. This is really exceptional for me.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Since I have only been a BJD owner for two years, I'm thinking all my dolls qualify as my "first few", even though "few" is really not a good word when you are talking about *cough* close to twenty. So, um, see above: I still have all of them. Hence the quickly accumulating number of my resin crew.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
No, and I admit I sometimes wonder if it will. My dolls are something between realistic and stylised - none of them have huge eyes, for example, but they don't have the more realistic proportions of Iplehouse's dolls either. I can't really see that changing, but I do find it more and more difficult to stick to the principles I laid out when I started buying dolls. Recently, I have bought a) a doll that I had already (so now I have twins), b) two bodies for the same character, c) a doll for which I have invented a character, instead of getting a doll based on a pre-existing character - and this I did only because I wanted to own a doll in a particular size (namely, 25 cm). Lately I have started to feel a hankering towards a critter with goat legs, whereas there are no fauns in my story at all...

What doll do you own now?
They are close to twenty now, so I'm not going to list them all; they are in my profile. But here is the (scary!) timing:

2011: three dolls (1 MSD and 2 SDs)
2012: eight dolls (1 1/16, 1 yo-SD, 3 MSDs, 3 SDs)
2013: eight dolls (2 1/16, 2 yo-SD, 4 SDs), some of which will probably only show up in 2014

I'm, er, thinking I need to stop now. Which I have only said, oh, a dozen times before. But I don't want the crew to become too much to handle, and I'm already stretching my limits here.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
I saw my 1st BJD in 2008 at DragonCon. Got my first doll in Sep 2011.
What dolls have you sold?
None, although I did give one (a hybrid) to my daughter
Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yes
Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
Not really - I have this list of dolls I want & which characters they will shell, which undergoes modifications from time to time.
What doll do you own now?
I have 35 dolls right now - 3 floating heads, four 1/12th size tinies, a 1/6th little girl, 5 MDs & 22 SDs - w/3 bodies, three more 1/6 babies, an IH KID, & 10 more SDs to come over the next 2 years :d At this time LOL

 

Ohhhh...this is going to be a long reply, so I'm going to leave out a few details...lol

How many years have you been in the hobby? 6
What dolls have you sold? Too many to list!
Do you still own any of your first few dolls? Yes, I still own Amir, my first, and Loki's head (my second), though both are in storage now since they were upgraded
Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting? YES! I used to stick to only MSDs I could get from JunkySpot, now I have only SD mostly and like more detailed and realistic sculpts
What doll do you own now? I own 31 dolls now, and two floating heads, you can see them all on my profile! (28 SD, 1 YoSD, 1 MSD, 1 anthro/pet, 2 MSD heads)


2005- Became interested in the hobby, but was still in school with a parttime job and there was NO WAY I could afford it, and my parents threatened to cut me off if I had money to "waste" on dolls and obviously didn't need their help, so I kind of forgot about it all for awhile.
2006- Still couldn't afford resin, so got my first 1/6 Obitsu from JunkySpot. I named him Riven, and I still have him.
2007- Got a better paying job, got engaged, became independent from my parents.
March 2008- Started selling my Barbies, Bratz and anything of value that I no longer was interested in keeping.
April 2, 2008- I ordered my first doll, Amir, a blank AoD Chen from JunkySpot. He arrived just a few days later, and I actually cried while opening him. He was PERFECT! I attempted my first (horrific) faceups, made him (also horrific) clothes, got him a (cheap frizzy) wig and (cheap, junky) eyes from ebay. He was my pride and joy!
September 18, 2008- I ordered my second doll, Loki, a blank DollZone Mo, from JunkySpot. Repeat the process again, beam over my precious babies (ohhhh, those poor boys......I tried! but wow....lol)
December 25, 2008- First girl! Tierney, Bobobie Pixie
End of 2008-early 2010- Collected a few more dolls, but none came close to matching my love for Amir and Loki.
2009- Joined DoA, but remained mostly silent.
Summer 2009- Started BJD RP
September 2009- First SD! Jasper, Obitsu Haruka/BBB 60cm boy
October 2009- First doll meet! I was SO nervous, but it went great!
December 2009- Amir gets his first boyfriend. First ever doll relationship outside the house. Also, first 70cm boy comes home! Leander, DollZone Yuu
January 2010- Loki gets his first out of house relationship.
Spring 2010- First time selling a doll. It was my Bobobie Pixie. I felt SO bad, but I had zero bond to that doll, and wanted to buy a doll I liked better. realized after she was gone that I didn't miss her at all, and ended up selling a few more.
June 2010- I FINALLY looked past JunkySpot and the marketplace, and bought a doll I really loved NOT because it was cheap and easy to attain, but because he was gorgeous and exactly what I wanted---RingDoll Shao fullset.
January 2011- Loki's relationship ends.
February 2011- Parker comes home- my first YoSD boy! (IslandDoll Kevin) This same year, he gets upgraded to MSD. Also, Amir's relationship ends.
April 2011- Upgraded Loki to SD DZ Mo/Doll Leaves. Loki married Ivory Stardust's BlueBlood Waltz, Spencer.
July 31, 2011- My RingDoll Valo, Hansel, gets married to Ivory Stardust's DollZone Shengxi hybrid boy, Quinn in a ceremony at a doll meet at my house!
November 2011- Upgraded Amir to AoD Gu
2011-2012- Upgraded most of my MSDs to SD, and also went CRAZY buying impulse dolls off the marketplace, every random doll that was cute or a good deal, and turned around and sold most of them within a few months. SO much buyers' remorse!! Finally settled down with about 36 dolls and decided I was happy with that.
January 2012- First SD girl! Claire- AoD Qian
February 2012- First pet doll! Xerxes- Doll Chateau Faramita
May-June 2012- Hansel and Loki both become fathers. :P And I shell Loki's son, Zack, as AE Adzuki Bean.
October 13, 2012- Amir married Ivory Stardust's boy, Quinn in Opryland Hotel, Nashville Tennessee.
November 2012- Upgraded Parker to SD- 5star Edmund head/IMPL Model body
Spring 2013- Started realizing I had no bond to some of these dolls, and wanted to take my crew in a new direction. Sold off the sculpts I didn't love, shelled a few new characters to get headed in the right direction.
Now- Still thinning out the crew to get everybody fitting in as they should. Greatly improved at faceups, photography, sewing, posing, blushing, tattoos, shopping....you name it!

 

What a neat topic!

How many years have you been in the hobby?
I ordered my first doll in early 2008, shortly before I joined DoA. So just over five years now.
What dolls have you sold?
Only one, a Soom Amber (missing some of her human parts). I loved her in pictures, really wanted to order her, was thrilled to receive her, but never bonded with her. Eventually I realized I only handled her to move her out of the way, had no interest in sewing for her or doing her faceup, and mostly was frustrated with trying to store her around my smaller dolls, and realized then that it was time to send her to someone who could give her the care she deserves. (Her new owner sent a link to her box opening, and it was wonderful to see her in a home where she fit in!) Someday I'd like to somehow get my hands on a Winnie Dee to replace her in a smaller size, but I don't really regret selling her, only not ordering a Winnie Dee when they were new.
Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Since the Amber is the only one I've ever sold, I own all of them! The rest all do have a pretty good bond for me, so won't be going anywhere anytime soon!
Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
Somewhat. Originally I planned to only have an MSD family of my original characters (initially, it was only one, but that never lasts). I'd intended to get an actual cat for the feline character, but found a Puki Pukisha much cuter, so changed that. Then FairyLand launched their LittleFee line, and they were too cute to pass up. Then ResinSoul added some smaller dolls that fit perfectly with the original family, as kids. And Soom started their hard to resist Teenie Gem fantasy limiteds, so a couple of those came home. And a MNM order popped up for my favorite character, so I couldn't say no to that... and this "small family of MSD elves" has ended up with every size 45cm and smaller, with fantasy and human characters, and a total of four distinct "family" groups. So much for just a few elves.
What doll do you own now?
I have 12 full dolls, one floating head, one at "Before shipping," three ready to order when I decide if I want to do the current or next order... and plenty more planned. I'll list them below:

2008: My roommate at the time suggested that we start making doll clothes, and started researching where to get some nice ones for a good price. I resisted at first, until she showed me a Bobobie Sprite on JunkySpot's site--the best match I'd seen to my OC I wanted to make, except that he was sold as a she, a problem easily rectified by JS. I decided that, since he wasn't particularly expensive, I could get just one. Shortly after that, I found my way to DoA, and the danger of the Company News forum. Angel of Dream had a free head event, and two of their sculpts looked like two more of my characters. So I ordered up a full doll (Chi) and a body for the free head (You), and one became three. Since one of the two new ones has a feline familiar, I started searching for that character, and FairyLand PukiPuki Pukisha was way too cute to pass up, even if she wasn't quite a true cat. I got her from the marketplace, and three became four. Somewhere after that, FairyLand announced the preorder event for their new LittleFee line. And they didn't fit with my plans at all! But a Piki got ordered anyway, along with a split for a Big Pukisha faceplate. Toward the end of the year, I also ordered ResinSoul Bei and Bao to be the children of two of the larger dolls...

2009: Started out with the delivery of Bei and Bao, and ordering Soom Amber (eventually sold). During that time, I also fell for a Soom Glati and Yrie, got my Big Pukisha's body in a split, and ran a Minimee order for a cat head sculpt called Rubiana. Things definitely slowed down a bit after that first rush of dolls, though, and I had my hands full with work on the current batch (much of which is still in progress, I don't work at too fast a pace, unfortunately).

2010: was definitely paced back a bit, acquiring only the Minimee Edward Elric head from a particularly troublesome Group Order that then remained without a body for a couple of years. (He received one, but it didn't look right and was quickly rejected.)

2011 and 2012: Due to a lot of upheaval in my life, I had to put the hobby on pause during this time. I missed it, but was just too busy overall to do anything with it.

2013: Decided that, with my tax return in, it was time to finally do something about Ed's body, and bought the one I wanted for him off the marketplace. Getting that taken care of has reinvigorated me, and I'm currently waiting on a WithDoll Kyle to be shipped, my first full doll since 2009! And with so many changes during my break, my wishlist has grown quite a bit.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
I started since 2009when I met one of my friend in Thailand. At that time I was very new to bjd. I started of with blythe but most of my friend in Thailand very into BJD. As a result they convinced me to play BJD and I started to loving it!
What dolls have you sold?
I sold some of limited pullips. It was pink Alice and one was secret person 04.
Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
I still own most of my first doll except the pink Alice and the secret person.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
Yes! I was going for cute dolls with big head. I love kind of Chibi style doll but some how I ended up buying any doll that I love for example handsome SD dolls from switch dolls.
What dolls do you own now?
Now I have :
-Secret person 04
-dreaming doll
-switch dolls
-yo-sd
-pullips
-dal
-and I just ordered Kaye wiggs ^_^

 

I first saw Volks BJD's on the internet around 2003-2004. Fell in love until I saw the price. I had always been mad for multi jointed dolls.
I put them out of my head for a time.
2006 I saw an Obitsu Gretel. Loved her and put her on layaway.
I thought she would be my only one until a friend started a Yahoo group.
I joined the group in 2010 to be polite but had no intention of buying more dolls.
Until the pictures started killing me. I started looking on ebay, DA and other sites, getting ,more and more obsessed.
I wanted a resin boy. I finally settled on Bobobie Apollo. I loved his face and he was within my budget.
Then I joined DoA.
I decided my Apollo needed a girlfriend and found out that most companies take layaway...I was doomed from then on.
I still have all my dolls except one Resinsoul Long whom I traded for a MSD girl.
I haven't changed. I buy who I fall in love with.
Only a few had characters before they got here. Most develop their character as I get to know them.

 

Woo~ My BJD journey!

How many years have you been in the hobby?
Kinda 2008, I got my first otter (Pet Ari Dalsoo), but I really didn't get into the hobby until 2010

What dolls have you sold?
I sold my Dream of Doll Calla because she was too big after I discovered Minifees *0*;; I also sold a Fairyland VE Woosoo head because my VE Chloe stole the body.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
I still have my little otter, she was a birthday gift, so she's special to me

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
I used to think I'd collect a lot of SD dolls, but I fell in love with Minifees and now I'm overrun by them!

What dolls do you own now?

Nikki [DF Pet Ari Dalsoo] - purchased from Doll Factory
8/21/2008

Kimmie [Luts ZDF Wolffy - The Grandma] - purchased from Luts
1/14/2010

Titan [Luts ZDF Lio - Fencer Boy] - purchased from Luts
1/29/2011

Zephii Lunelle Vanetia-Knightley [FL MNF VE Chloe Mod] - head secondhand from april418, body purchased from Fairyland
3/31/2011

Brink Rixon Knightley [FL MNF Karsh] - purchased from DDE
10/17/2011

Evie [Luts ZDF Truffle - Blue Ver.] - purchased from Luts
10/27/2011

Nem Mina Knightley [FL PKF Luna] - purchased from DDE
3/8/2012

Sebastian Jet Cygnus [FL MNF Kyle Mod] - secondhand from spiteless
6/8/2012

Kenji [Luts ZDF Papi - D'artagnan] - secondhand from Yoniverse
9/25/2012

Caroline [Luts ZDF Fenny - The Sweets] - secondhand from charmyc
11/27/2012

Journey [FL MNF Breakaway Mod] - secondhand from Thavron
12/3/2012

Pommie [FL MNF Celine] - purchased from DDE
6/17/2013

Bambi Reese Elkins [FL MNF Juri '08] - secondhand from lil_broken_dolly
9/12/2013

Rayleigh Kai Elkins [FL MNF Yder] - [waiting] secondhand from merili (head only, for now)

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
5~6 years.
My first doll arrived on February 8, 2008. But I got into the whole BJD world in 2007. At first I fell in love with them, but found them way to expensive. But then at a local gothic and fantasy event I saw a stand of Think Pink (a Dutch BJD agent) and there I saw them for the first time in real life and decided to go for it.

What dolls have you sold?
I haven't sold any of my dolls.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yes, all of them.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
Yes. But that is also because the dolls that are available have changed over time. At first I started with Luts dolls. Big eyes, not very realistic. Then I got into the whole mature looking Soom dolls with fantasy parts, and later on also got into different sized instead of just SD and houndsize only.
Nowadays I am more drawn towards weird/unusual dolls. Like Doll Chateau dolls for example. And the big ones, like Dollmore Trinity and Lusion. I am not that much into Soom fantasy dolls anymore, I feel a bit like "been there, done that" now.

What dolls do you own now?

Quite a lot! 37 dolls, 2 floating heads, 1 incoming (and another one incoming in a few days...)

I own:
Soom: Heliot (unicorn), Heliot girl (non-unicorn), Amber, Cass, Galena (greyskin), Galena (white skin), Ai (faun), Ai (human), Ai/Glot hybrid, Chalco tan, Breccia, Syen (gargoyle), Syen (human), Nenad, Mixi, Mylo (white), Pel (bronze).
Luts: delf Dark elf Soo, delf Dark elf Soo Vampire, delf Angel elf Soo, delf Lu-Wen, delf Lu-wen Vampire girl, tiny delf Dorothy
Dollzone: Cherry, Bunny, Anson (flower type)
Dollmore: Ha Yarn Cho White Vulpes (fullset, LE10), Trinity Golden Jude
Fairyland: Feeple Ashley & Ashley Vampire head, Puki ante multihead (on resinsoul body)
Angel Fantasy Alice 2x, Niki
Peakswood Goldie
Souldoll Chiron greyskin human
Bambicrony Ping Ping
Doll Chateau Alberta

And I have a Dollmore Lusion Daish incoming (on layaway), and in a couple of days I will order one of those cute little Mystic Kids bunnies.

 

I got into the hobby because of a doll I saw on myspace in late 2007 or early 2008. I visited another Mana-sama fan's site and saw a picture of a beautiful blue haired doll. At that point I had no idea what a BJD was. But the doll made me really want one to cosplay it as my idol Mana.

So I had to ask her where she got. She linked me to two BJD sites, Dream of Doll and Luts. And from there on I learned about BJDs.

What I really wanted was a Mana-sama doll. But back then I did not know custom made dolls like MNMs existed. So my only option was to find a doll I liked and cosplay it. I started looking at LUTS CP Delf Shine but ended up with a DOI Luke. He did not look like Mana but I was happy with my choice.

It would take a while for me to get a real Mana BJD. And on January 8th on my birthday I got my first Mana MNM. And later on April 26 2011 I found my second Mana MNM on the MP. I could not believe I found another one

I have bought many dolls before and after my Manas. But my need for a Mana doll is what got me into this hobby.

I got 25 dolls in my collection. Six of them is SDs.

My Manas will always have a special place in my heart.

 

I'll probably keep coming back to edit this post as time goes by. Here we go. *deep breath*
EDIT: Scratch that 'probably', I've been updating this post at least once a month! Check the 'last edited' date on the bottom of the post to see the most recent edit date!


Starting with and jumping off the suggested questions:
How many years have you been in the hobby?
When I was eleven (in 2007), I discovered BJDs while searching online for some kind of really posable doll or action figure for my mom to use as a drawing model. Actually, I discovered a specific doll, who was probably the first thing I ever truly fangirled over, and then I knew two things. One, I needed to know what kind of doll he was (migidoll Ryu, to be exact), and Two, I needed one just like him (And now I have one.) I had actually been moderately interested in some of the fashion dolls my grandma collected (still does, but now she prefers BJDs too, thanks to me!) before I saw that doll, and I had heard of these crazy, huge, expensive Asian dolls, but having never seen one, I didn't understand why anyone would pay THAT much for a doll! The most expensive doll I ever had at that point was an American Girl Doll who I barely played with and had a LOT of clothes\props, all of which I pretty much immediately sold after I decided to save up for a BJD. Because I was constantly getting obsessed with various things for about a week at that point, I understood that my parents would probably discourage me from getting too far into the whole thing before moving on to the next obsession. Only this one didn't fade. I kept telling my family and friends about how I was going to save up for these dolls and they all had the same reaction, more or less. "Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay, sure." She'll never actually do it though... But I saved for two years and I did it. I bought a BJD. It was 2009, a week before I turned thirteen. I was going to get a migidoll Ryu for my first doll, just like the one I first fell in love with, but on a sort of last-minute impulse I bought an Elfdoll Soah off eBay instead. (I did get my Ryu right after that though, as soon as I'd saved up enough money for his head, 'cause at that point migi was still only making heads. He didn't get a body until about a year or so later, eheh...)

What dolls have you sold?
an Elfdoll three-part-torso large bust girl body, NS
a modified Soom ZZZ Shonki head + kitty parts, black resin
a modified Soom fauna Ai w/ hooves + tail, WS
a Fairyland LTF DES head, WS
a Soom Special Order Galena head, NS
an older Luts Delf Mature type 2 girl body, NS
an Elfdoll reminisce Lydia head, WS
an Elfdoll Soah head, NS
a modded Unoa sp.Lusis\MNF hybrid, NS
a Granado Nuevo girl body, NS
a migidoll Jina head, NS
a Fairyland Realpuki Aki, tan
a Fairyland Realpuki Roro, NS
a migidoll Guy body, NS
an Unoa Latea faceplate & Buff headback, NS
a modded Limhwa Eva head, NS
a migidoll Fairy Jina head, WS
a Dollclans Vezeto\Impldoll Idol hybrid, tan
a Sugarble tiny torso, NS
a Sugarble tiny head (unsure of sculpt), NS
a Luts Senior Delf boy body, NS
an old Iplehouse YID boy body, NS
a modded Dollmore Youth Eve body, NS
(hopefully those are in the right order, and hopefully I haven't forgotten anyone!)

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Absolutely. Though I did decide to let my very first doll go, because throughout our (almost) four years together, we never bonded. At all. I never wanted to sell her because she was so incredibly beautiful, especially after I got her a Shallowsleep faceup, but I needed to focus on the dolls I actually had (have!) a connection with, and getting other characters home. She truly was beautiful. She just wouldn't tell me who she was... Oh well...
My second doll is my all-time favorite, and I will probably never get rid of him, even if he yellows like crazy someday! He's a migidoll Ryu and I love him so very very much. That first doll I fell in love with was a migidoll Ryu, and my love has been truly eternal in this case! Even my third doll I love, so I probably won't ever sell her either, but if the worst should happen and I could only keep one doll, it would definitely be my migidoll Ryu. Hands down. (Sorry everyone else! I LOVE YOU GUYS TOO!) I'm actually trying to pare down my current collection right now, but many of my earlier dolls are still sticking around. They're not going anywhere. ^ - ^

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
Oddly enough, the style of my actual physical collection has been pretty consistent even though my wishlist has completely evolved! I think it's just 'cause at first, I had to wait much longer between dolls, so there was more time for my wishlist to fluctuate. And I guess that even as it changes now, it changes in much smaller ways than it used to. As I said earlier, my top two companies have always been migidoll and Iplehouse, but I changed my taste in Iplehouse dolls right around when they discontinued the old YIDs, so my taste was actually pretty different. My third favorite company for a loooong time was DOD, and I can still totally see why other people love them, but now I can't even imagine having one! They would look so out of place with my other dolls now. I used to want so many DOTs and DOCs back then, my goodness... I had this doll family planned out at the very beginning that consisted of my migidoll Ryu, an Iplehouse Harin, and their daughter, who was going to be a JID Tatiana, but their story fell apart shortly after my Ryu arrived. It just wasn't meant to be, though funnily enough after all this time I ended up getting an Iplehouse Harin for a different character, who might actually end up with my Ryu anyway! I've also got a bit of a soft spot for fantasy dolls, though after years of waffling about it I've decided to stick with just a few tiny fantasy dolls. No giant fantasy parts for me! (Wait though, does a skeleton man count as a fantasy doll?)

But my actual physical collection has always more or less been on the more realistic side with the larger dolls, though still stylized enough to register in my mind as DOLLS, and more exaggerated child-like features for the smaller dolls. I have five YoSDs, but they're all Soom heads! Only two of them are actually on Soom bodies though. Soom is probably my favorite company as far as YoSDs go, though Fairyland's LTF bodies are AMAZING! But, that's why two of my Soom hybrids are on LTF bodies. My latest YoSD is a full Soom doll though, because of his fantasy resin color and legs... (I used to hate all the weird fantasy resin colors, but somehow this little lilac guy stole my heart...)

What dolls do you own now?
Ah! This calls for a list! (In vague order of character relationships, not in order from oldest to newest.)
Ian - migidoll Ryu head, NS, faceup by Shallowsleep (Floating head!)
Max - Iplehouse Harin + Limhwa 57cm girl body, NS, faceup by me
Augustine - migidoll Jina + ClassyDoll toned girl body, NS, faceup by unknown artist :c
Anton - migidoll lightly modded River head, NS, faceup by me (Floating head!)
Theone - Supia Roda + DreamingDoll Elva girl body, NS, faceup by me
?Nameless? - migidoll Miho + lightly modded InfinitiDoll girl body, custom-painted tan, faceup by me (WIP)
Rot - Soom Photon Reaper head & hands + Resinsoul 70cm boy body, WS, faceup and blushing by me
Moss - Soom OE Beyla + Fairyland LTF girl body, WS, faceup by me
Wren - Soom Yrie + Fairyland LTF girl body, WS, faceup by me
Pip - Fairyland Realpuki modded Aki, WS, faceup and mods by me
April - Soom heavily modded R.Taco + Dolomi + Grit + Syen hybrid, custom-painted tan, faceup and mods by me
Sorena - Soom Glot + modded resinsoul torso + Sugarble emerald naga tail, WS (& green), faceup and mods by me
Warren - Soom R.Silky w\ fantasy parts (sans tail + hands), light violet, faceup by me
*visiting* Bellus - heavily modded Pipos Mari head + modded Soom Teenie Gem body, WS, mods and faceup by me(WIP)

Do you have a wishlist?
Normally it's a bit heavier, but at least for right now it's mostly just parts to complete floating heads or headless bodies I already have at home...

Ian - Nobilitydoll emotional boy body, NS
Anton - Switch HD60 boy body, NS
??nameless?? - Iplehouse Audrey, NS

That's it for now!

 

Holy, resin kittens, april! How on earth did you keep track of all the meetups?


The short answer to your question is I have been in the hobby for seven years and have never sold a doll.

Here is the not so short answer for those that wish to read it:

It has been seven years since I discovered BJDs while looking for an "elf figure" on ebay to use for a D&D character. I stumbled upon a modded Delf Nanuri 06 and was immediately intrigued. After a month or so of researching I decided to get a Delf Dark Elf Soo for my first doll. I was going to wait until February when the tax returns would come in, but then I discovered the joys of company events!

Dec 2006 - Luts had an event and I liked the gift head. I asked Luts if they had plans of making Dark Elf Soo into a type two body, and they said "yes, this coming summer" so I jumped on the event and bought a Type 2 body and got my Juri 06 head for free. I thought I could just get the Dark Elf Soo head later on and have them share a body. Well, Luts never made Dark Elf Soo into a Type 2 head, and I had unknowingly contracted a disorder I like to call GTGTLD (got to get that limited doll).

March 2007 - My GTGTLD flared up when Elfdoll re-release the orginal Catsy. This was also when I discovered that US dealers rock! Catsy come home in April.

Summer 2007 - I fell for the Nanuri head. A local fellow BJD enthusiast wanted to get a minifee body and some hands, so I jumped at the chance to get him. My first floating head.

December 2007 - My husband wanted to get a bjd as well, so we organized a split to get a body and got him a dreaming Moon, and me another event head. Around the same time, I got a Fantasy doll body for my two heads to share, but my husband liked it better than his Delf body, so I inherited the Delf body for my boys to share.

April 2008 - Denver Doll Emporium anounced that they would be getting a run of Black Catsys. And I discovered the joys of layaway. My new Catsy came home in July.

May 2008 - I had a WTB out for the 2006 Elf Lishe and someone PMed me that they had one for sale! I had just sold a bunch of things on ebay so I had the funds so I jumped at the chance to get her. Then the crazy began. Turns out the person I was buying her from was flipping dolls, and the person she was buying the doll from had not even shipped it to her yet! Things got ugly for a bit, but in the end I got the doll... and a live cockroach that hitched a ride with her from Canada. In the meantime others began having issues with this same seller... at the time I was afraid to speak up for fear of the person leaving some horrible feedback for me in return, but in the end the person got banned from the DoA... and I overpaid for my doll and learned a good lesson.
It was also around this time that SOOM began to release their monthly dolls. They were very pretty, but a little big to fit in with my other dolls, and a little beyond what I could afford to pay even on layaway

June 2008 &#8211; Sent off my Elf Lishe for a new faceup. First time doing so, and it was a little nerve wracking, but it all turned out well.
February 2009 &#8211; SOOM releases Amber. I LOVED Amber, but she was out of my budget. So I simply had to add her photos to my collection of pretty SOOM dolls I will never get.

February 27[SUP]th[/SUP] 2009 - SOOM begins to release "tiny versions of the larger dolls". I knew I would want to get "tiny Amber" when she came out.

Early December 2009 - My computer died. With the holidays coming we put off getting a new one for a while as money was tight.

January 8th 2010 - We got a new computer! I can get online again! I go straight to the Den to see what I have been missing and what to I see? SOOM had released my "tiny Amber"! And I only had two days to come up with the first payment!! Well... as stated we JUST got the new computer, so there was no way it was going to happen. I was a bit put out to say the least.

Febuary 2010 - Tax returns come in. Too late for me to get my Ai, but I had seen on in person by that point and I was on a mission! I posted a WTB for Ai, Ai parts, teenie body... or whatever would help make it happen. I got an email from someone and I ended up with a SOOM Beyla with the human head and her hooves and tail. My original plan for her was to get an Ai head and mod her hooves to be cloven, perhaps sell off the Beyla head.

April 2010 &#8211; Saw SOOM Appini. Had to get those kitty bits! I organized a layaway group order, and the bits in late June. Beyla became a cute little kitten. I also found an Ai tail in the Marketplace.

May 2010 &#8211; I found an Ai head in the Marketplace!

December 2010 &#8211; After many failed attempts to either trade my Beyla hooves for Glot ones and others backing out of selling them to me, I found a pair in the Marketplace!!

March 2011 &#8211; Sent off both my Ai and Beyla heads to Honk Kong for faceups and to get Ai&#8217;s eyes opened up a bit. The plan at the time was to have all my teenie bits be the same character, a shape changer. Human, kitty, and deer forms&#8230;. I would send all future heads to the same artist to insure consistency with the look. Thus the FrankenSOOM Project was born.

February 2012 &#8211; Looking back I regretted not having got a Hati. I rather hoped that someday a Free Choice event would come along for the teenie gems, but there was no guarantee that Hati would be offered if SOOM ever did do such an event for them, so I ordered an SO Hati to be safe. I loved the sculpt after all so much I did not horribly mind the lack of wolf parts. She was my first human doll.

April 2012 &#8211; Darn you SOOM! I am just about to make the final payment on my SO Hati, and they now have a Free Choice for Teenie Gems! I really really really want a bronze Hati with the wolf parts. There is no way I can pay off my SO Hati and start a layaway for a FC Hati in the same month! Thankfully SOOM allowed me to add the FC Hati to my order and start my layaway over.

October 2012 &#8211; Both of my Hatis come home! In the end I waited NINE MONTHS for my SO Hati, and I had a migraine when they came home, so by the time I did the opening for my FC Hati, I gave up and just tore into my SO Hati to make sure she was okay&#8230; then it was time for me to take more meds and pass out. I had the hardest time bonding with her until I found just the right wig and eyes for her. Now I love her to bits!

January 2013 &#8211; I found one of my &#8220;grail&#8221; dolls on ebay. A Kid Delf Ttori Elf girl with her original faceup! I had just turned quite the profit restoring a Windstone dragon, so I like to say my Ttori is my $20 BJD (yep, bought a stature for $20, fixed it up and had enough to buy a BJD!)

March 2013 - I found a perfect body for my Ai head in the Marketplace. And when I say perfect I mean PERFECT! My Ai head had yellowed some, as had her Glot hooves, so when I found a yellowed body with no lower legs, it was the final element I needed to complete my girl. The FrankenSOOM project was nullified since my Ai and Beyla become two separate entities. It took three years, four sellers, and a head taking a trip to Hong Kong, but she is finally complete!

July 2013 &#8211; Luts re-releases the Human version of Maska. I could not resist.

August 2013 &#8211; My husband had planned on putting a Dikadoll Rena on layaway for our anniversary, but while I was poking around the Marketplace I found a Delf Dark Elf Soo&#8230; normal skin, and original faceup.. and she was at such a good price. I said &#8220;Ooooo!&#8221; He said &#8220;Oooo what?&#8221; I told him what I had found. He said to see if the seller would do a layaway. She did. Now seven years after I decided I wanted her, I finally have my Dark Elf Soo!

 

I don't think I have the stamina to do a whole timeline just now. But here goes my answer as of now.

How many years have you been in the hobby?

I discovered BJDs in the summer of 2008. My first doll arrived at the very beginning of 2010.

What dolls have you sold?

None yet.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?

Since I haven't sold any, yes. I will also add that my first two dolls are also the two I would probably least want to part with.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?

Hmm. Well, not too much. However, when I first discovered BJDs, I really had no interest in any sculpt that looked like a child. In fact, I was quite frustrated that so many sculpts looked like young teenagers. I've completely mellowed out on that count now. Especially after seeing some Yos, MSDs, and tinies in person, I can see the appeal much more and would even consider getting one.

What dolls do you own now?

Dollmore Lisa Rubik (my first, whose just getting some mods done now)
Buddydoll Raphael half-elf
Buddydoll Mars (just the head)
Glamor Eve Emile
Supia Rosy (as a head, which stays on the glamor eve body)
Soom Chrom
A hybrid of the old Iplehouse EID female body and RS/Raurencio Studio's Adonis head
Iplehouse Emillia

For the last year and a bit, I've felt like this is the perfect household. There's variety, but it's not overwhelming.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?

Less than one. 7 months roughly.

What dolls have you sold?

None as yet, though I thought about selling my Miro MSDs. I changed my mind though. I decided to just change the heads.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?

All of them, yes.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?

Most of my dolls are Miro or RS. I have a Magical Angel head that isn't and I will have a couple of Minimee bodies soon, but mostly that's what I've been collecting Miro and RS.

What dolls do you own now?

2 SD sized Miro Dolls, both female. 2 slim MSD sized Miro dolls, male and female. 2 slim MSD RS females. I have a white skinned SD Minimee body on lay-a-way for MA Kelly. I'm almost done with that. I have a small busted SD NS Miro body and another NS Minimee project body that I am going to be doing a lay-a-way for. The Miro body is likely getting a much coveted RS Dai head and maybe different hands as soon as I can figure out which ones to get. The other one is a project body for a boy doll head way down the road, but I haven't even decided which one as yet. Down the road also I still want to get two new heads for the MSD bodies. I am not happy with the Miro ones I have now. I still want the Dollmore heads I had in mind in the first place. I've never quite let go of that idea.

Once I am done getting those bodies and the heads for them that will be 9 dolls all total and I will likely be done unless Miro does a few more heads and I find one I like. I wouldn't mind a deep purple boy doll to go with my green and my blue girls, a male doll that color would complete my set of those bright colorful dolls, but I am not going to go there unless they release a new head I like. 9-10 dolls is probably as many BJD's as I'd ever want to own. That's more than enough for me to have a nice collection of both MSD and SD sized dolls and any more than that I just don't have room or money for anyway even with my BJD habit being all about the low end dolls, and used dolls. I've done a lot of damage this year just getting what I have, even with used and low end stuff. I never meant to get this many. I just got um, a little enthusiastic? (blush)

I mean to stop here pretty soon so I can concentrate more on giving them all face ups and making stuff for them to wear. Kelly will finally get his body soon and I mean to have the Dai head if possible. But the other SD boy doll head and the two Dollmore heads that's next year and it will be a lot more spaced out than what I have been doing so far. I'm done with lay-a-ways after I get the ones I have going now done. I meant to stop with Kelly's body this year and I just didn't. The lure of cheap bodies for projects I wanted to do down the road was just too great. :P I feel like I've been doing perpetual payments since March. I haven't, not quite, but I'll definitely need to give my wallet a break for a while before I go after the other heads I want. The only head I want before the end of the year is my Dai and even then I'm not absolutely 100% sure I will have her this year. I'm going to try to get her for Christmas, but it will actually depend upon how much cash I have around then. She just might have to wait till next year too...

 

This is a great topic I just hope I can remember it all :3

In summer of 2010: I found out about bjd's from youtube and decided that I needed one for my birthday.
in December of 2010 I got my Bobobie march. but soon after that I wanted another doll. since I was newb in this hobby I didnt know all the coompanies and didnt do my research so I thought volks soom and bobobie were the only companies.
spring of 2011I got my bobobie pixie and had those two for about a six monthes till I orderd another rs doll yuo.
I forgot to mention during summer of 2010 I started making video on youtube.
by winter I had my rs yuo and bbb charisma.
in march 2012 I got my first human doll a RS li momo.
On october 30th My dikadolls lingri and maria arrived for my birthday present.
During the winter I than deleted my youtube channel bc I thought i would start over and remake my videos. (im still working on it
In June 2013 I completed my on going project aod heidi Bambi.
In summer of 2013 I got my soom dia Roland.
Just recently I purchased a Dollshe bernard

I still have My bobobie Pixie and my RS li
I have sold my bbb march, charisma,Aod heidi and rs yuo

My style has drastically changed (I think)
In th beggining i only had rs and bbb dolls now i have many a diverse assortment of dolls ^_^

currenty i have bbb pixie, rs li, dikadoll lingri, soom dia, and one doll on the way.

 

OH! MY BJD JOURNEY!!! I LOVE THIS! Awesome Thread topic QueenObvious!


Lets See... Where do I begin..... Oh! I Know! Anime Vegas 2006? 2005? There i am just walking around looking at stuff. And Then SHE walked by...... I have no idea who this girl is now but I remember I fallowed her like a creepy stalker for more than an hour. I didn't even want to talk to her. I just wanted to see more of what she was carrying. The most beautiful thing in the world. A doll the likes i'd never seen before. She finally noticed me not very stealthily fallowing her. We talked for a Long time. Her doll was a Mini Fee Lishe. A Tan Special. I Loved It. I'll Never forget it. And That was the start of my Super Secret Shameful Hobby! YAY!!!

It wouldn't be for another...... 6/7 years that I get my first doll. And even Thats pretty special. Again its all thanks to Anime Vegas (the local Anime Convention) Again! Its 2010 now and there's the fist BJD panel ever there! I had to go! Of course I was there with a friend. He went with and along the way realized how important and special this hobby was to me. He was also scandalized i'd hid it from him all these years. But then 2 weeks before Christmas 2010 he hands me an envelope and says "You have to get the rest by Christmas." I had no idea what he meant! In that envelope was $400 and a picture. A Picture of the Luts Soony. The doll i'd been dreaming about since that fateful day in 2006. I almost had an Asthma attack! But I can tell you I didn't sleep for those 2 weeks coming up with the other $300 to get my girl. Then on Christmas Eve we ordered her. Thats another funny story to! There I am standing outside the comic store he worked at trying t place this order on my Iphone since I couldn't get internet on the computer inside. And i'm having a panic attack. Everything was ON SALE!!! I got Soni at 20% off and all the suplies that went with taking care of a doll. Its made extra funny cause a friend walked into the store and all I heard was "Dude! Your girls gonna pass out!" as i pressed the Submit Order button. He and I are not dating, and never have, but until this day everyone still refers to him as my doll baby daddy. And he's decided that All BJD owners are crazy and that DoA must be like the stone masons. Our Super Secret Club where we need matching robes and membership signet rings. And that we obviously only meet under the cover of darkness.

After Soni it was just a down hill slide into maddness he claims.

And Technically my Very First doll was an Obitsu.

27cm Obitsu soft bust girl - Azuza. I bought her for myself just after that fateful convention as a birthday present to myself. My birthdays in November.

Luts Delf Soony - Soni Yukimi and with her the Luts Delf 2010 - Winter Event Head - Shae Fugiwara. She arrived on Valentines day! Really! She did! I was so happy. I had her box for 3 hours before i worked up the nerve to open it. I was all freaked out. I mean. I had dreamed and wanted her for so long! What if i had built her up in my mind? What if she wasn't all that i dreamed and wanted her to be? But she was. She was sooo beautiful...

Then was Luts Kid Delf Maska Limited Elf Ver. - Kasam Maeda. I was Supposed to be saving for the Shiwoo I wanted to be Sonis twin brother.... But Kasam was a Limited MSd that shocked air from my lungs he was so beautiful. I HAD to have him.

By Then I had FINALLY gotten into DoA. I mean it only took 2 years before someone would sent me and invite. and none of the mods ever got back to me when i was emailing them about trying to join. There i discovered the MarketPlace.... a truly dangerous place. These I got sporadically around my other luts orders.

I Got:
Luts Regen Head w/ F-Doll Type 1 Body - Antaros Tolena
Luts Delf 2009 - Winter Event Head - Dorian Zarale
D.i.M Minimee Head - the 10th Doctor Who - David Tennant
Luts Kid Delf 2010 Summer Event Doll - Aria Sonata
Soom Epidos Unikenta Body
Luts Delf 2011 Winter Event Head w/ F-Doll Type 2 Body - Kael Ayel
Luts Delf Lishe - Lishe Saito
Luts Senior Delf 2013 Summer Event Head - Not Named Yet
Luts Delf Miyu Head - Miyu Shinkei

I also discovered GO's on here and Thats got it's own Dangers

D.i.M Minimee Head - the 4th Doctor Who - Tom Baker
D.i.M Minimee Head - Doctor Who Companion - Billie Piper/Rose Tyler
D.i.M Minimee Head - Avengers/Loki - Tom Hiddleston x2


Luts Delf Lu-Wen - Lu-Wen Hasegawa - This one was murder to get. Luts was discontinuing the delf line Literally the day I went to order him he was phased out. I cried and desperately emailed Luts. Begging them to stock just 1 for me! Luckily they did. But my bad luck started there. My bank thought it was fraud when I ordered him. They locked down my account! I had to call Korea! Call! It was $1 a minute. and they put me on hold..... for so long. I wanted to cry. Then it took my bank a week! a week to decided I wasn't lying and reopen my account. But by now to complete my order I had to wire transfer the payment. It was $20 to transfer the money Into their account and chase charged me $50 to wire Out. But he came! I'm pretty sure theirs a youtube video of me crying over his box the day he came.

Luts Delf Shiwoo - Shinwa Yukimi

Luts Delf 2012 Summer Event Head - Kumori Kyousuke

Luts Kid Delf Yuz - Yuz Kyousuke and Luts Kid Delf 2012 Winter Event Doll - Elena Tolena

Luts Kid Delf Moon Lit Lolly Limited - Lolly Zarale

Luts Kid Delf 2013 Summer Event Head - Mikey Gejelh

Bobobie Mei - Luna Ikeda

Hujoo Freya - Katelyn (Katey-Kitty)



Got to Go! But I will come back to update more story later!!!

 

Although I am sorta new to the hobby, I suppose I can put up my log here.

Approximately between late 2010 and early 2011: I started watching Rozen Maiden in order to catch up with my other anime club pals. There, I started my hobby after discovering the Volks Rozen Maiden dolls. I originally wanted Suigintou, but since she is sold out, I gave up and walked away from it until I found the FCS system. My mother said she will buy me one if I improve my grades. I wanted to see how the dolls looked like in real person, so while my mother arranged a trip to Kyoto, she also took me to Tenshi no Sato to see if I really want them. I decided and pledged to work hard for my next year, and get my doll.

2012 summer: I finally proved my parents I got better grades, and convinced my father to pay for the doll. So, my mother arranged another lovely trip to Kyoto, and went to Tenshi no Sato to order my first doll, SDGr F-31 named Charles. Unfortunately, I had to get him until next spring because I couldn't go back this winter to pick him up because I had SAT studies!

2012 October: I got a A on a test, and my mother decided to take me to the Taiwanese Volks retailer, Wingmax, and bought a new outfit for Charles in case he gets bored of his first outfit.

2012 December 31st: My mother decided to ask me for my birthday present, and I asked her to buy a Dollfie Dream. Since Dollfie Dreams were cheaper than Super Dollfies, my mother agreed and payed for everything for me. She even asked my relatives from Japan who were coming near my birthday to bring all the dolly tools to Taiwan! So I was happy.

2013 January around my 24th (My birthday): Finally, I got my second doll, a customized DDH-03 named Hizuru! I was so happy to get my birthday present. But sadly, it meant SATs were around the way. I immediately started taking photos of her, and putting them up on the web, and sent them to Volks USA to put it up on their blog.

2013 February: My friend got into some depression, and I coaxed her into coming to a local anime con with me. I brought Hizuru that day, and I found a lovely set of clothing for Hizuru, a black lolita inspired dress and some socks and a ring!

2013 around April I think: Got all my studies done, school is almost over, so I went back to Japan for a quick spring break and seeing my grandmother. Finally, I get to meet my very first doll, my SDGr boy Charles! I was so relieved to wait for almost a year, and immediately took photos and whatnot, and putting them on the web and sending them to Volks USA too. Also, this time was my first time visiting Tenshi no Mado, the Harajuku Volks store strongly dedicated for SDs, no DDs allowed. I took whole tons of photos there. And also visited the Volks store in Shinjuku while I waited for my relative to come eat dinner with me and my mother. I also bought new socks for Charles, as well as fresh new underwear and cute shoes for Hizuru.

2013 August: Went back to Japan again for summer vacation. I made a huge Tokyo runaround with my cousin. This time, I went to Tenshi no Mado again, took more pics. And I also went to the Volks Akihabara showroom, and that store clerk there was super nice; he showed me where all the stuff were. I also took pics there too. Finally, I went to Tokyo Disneyland, left my dolls in my locker, and took photos. After coming home from vacation, I pasted all the doll photos into my Disneyland photos.

That is really all for now, and my future plans are:

This December, it seems like I will be heading to the 30th Dolls Party which will be held at Tokyo, as well as the special Volks 40th anniversary event too.

For future dolls, I am hoping to get a FCS SD13 girl, and if Volks ever sell a animetic male 1/3 doll, I will get that too.

For dolls I own...

My very first doll SDGr boy Charles, and my second one DD Hizuru. They remain happily at my side.

I will update when time comes.

 

Well, I am relatively new to the Hobby. I started about two and a half years ago (?). I looked for alternatives for 20 cm-Breyer-modelhorse-rider dolls. Means, jointed dolls. And BANG! Stumbled right into BJDs. At first I did not understand that these dolls are ususally, in adult form, much taller than 20 cm. I started to love looking at them, then I discovered their price tags. And my reaction was "Oh noo!". Then I figured out how to make it happen by selling a good bit of the modelhorse stuff. My first doll was a 65 cm-Granado guy. But I continued dreaming of a big man from Iplehouse. Thus I traded the Granado for an EID. Then I felt that he was feeling quite lonely and needed a girlfriend...they had a little girl...In the meantime I felt that the big man was just too big to really play with. I sold him and got myself a smaller version of him - my beloved SID man. It was not before him that I found a clear direction for a character concept. I want to dollify more or less (as far as I can do it) some of the characters from the Avengers. Maybe this is a bit boring, but I am very happy with this.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
4 years. I joined at the very beginning of 2009, and bought my first doll in March 2009 (although she didn't arrive home for another nine months due to a long layaway and some shipping delays).

What dolls have you sold?
I've sold my Pipos Cheshire, my Soom Bygg head and my Pipos Charlotte and Demon heads. I've also sold off numerous fantasy parts, but don't really count those as 'dolls' I eventually plan on buying another Pipos Cheshire (ideally whenever Pipos next offers Cheshire, Bao and Dali sculpts all in grey skin, as the characters are a trio and my reason for selling Cheshire was that I just couldn't bond with him on his own).

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yep, I still own my very first (Soom Cuprit), and all of my first year purchases (Chrom, Cass, Galena, Ai and Chalco).

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
Nope. I've stuck with Soom's dolls the whole time, and wouldn't change them for anything. I adore Soom's facial sculpts, and their fantasy parts and fantasy resin colours are just the icing on the cake.

What dolls do you own now?
In order of company release (as I can't entirely remember when I bought some of my floating heads):

2008
JUL - Soom MD Bix
2009
JAN - Soom MD Amber
MAR - Soom MD Cuprit
MAY - Soom MD Chrom
JUL - Soom MD Cass
NOV - Soom MD Galena (grey skin)
DEC - Soom MD Ai
DEC - Soom MD R. Ai
2010
JAN - Soom MD Chalco (brown tan skin)
MAR - Soom MD Shonki (second chance draw)
OCT - Soom MD Nephelin
2011
JUL - Soom MD Migma (light violet)
OCT - Soom FC Sard (normal skin)
OCT - Soom FC Heliot (bronze skin)
NOV - Soom MD Clozel
NOV - Soom SO Alex
2012
JAN - Soom FC Topaz (bronze skin)
JAN - Soom FC Beryl (normal skin)
FEB - Soom FL Cylin
APR - Soom FC Hati (normal skin)
APR - Soom FC Skoll (normal skin)
MAY - Soom FC Delilah (brown tan skin)
MAY - Soom FC Marguerite (brown tan skin)
DEC - Soom MD Benmore
2013
MAY - Soom MD Sweet Witch (grey skin)
NOV - Soom FC Breccia (bronze skin)
NOV - Soom FC Coquina (normal skin)
NOV - Soom FC Amphibel (cream white skin)

This list just reflects the heads I own. Most of them share bodies. I also have a boatload of fantasy parts, but I won't list those since I don't really count them as 'dolls'.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?

Since 2011, at least thats when I got my first doll. I have been interested in them since 2009

What dolls have you sold?

None yet, I almost sold my Kirill but I just couldn't let him go. I'll be selling a lot of his current items when I replace them with new ones however.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?

Yes. I only have two, but they are both in my possession.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?

I noticed that I have shied away from certain companies and have gotten braver in the sense of making a huge project out of a doll. I used to want a dollmore victor lou for his third eye, even though I didn't really like the sculpt. But now I've chosen a better sculpt for the character, and will put the eye in myself (or commission it)

What dolls do you own now?

Vega: DOC Kirill (March 2011)

Zen: Mecha Angel-Elf Sabik (November 2013)

I'm currently saving for a DOC Tender Zen, which I should be able to buy in the next 2-3 weeks

 

2006 - I found BJDs by searching for a car part. I can't remember what doll I saw first but it was a picture that came up on a Google image search. I began to look through all the different dolls and research more into the subject. I try to buy a Gretel from the market place here but fail. Eventually I found Dollzone and fell in love with both the Hid and Mo sculpts. After some contemplation I decide that the Hid 'spoke' to me far more and I could see a lot of potential and personality in the sculpt. I placed an order for him with the money I'd saved up; the wait was long and I tracked him often.

2007 - Ces came home and he was everything I'd hoped he'd be and more. I couldn't believe how heavy he was!

2009 - I see the Dollzone event baby after the event finishes and feel pretty sad about it.

2011 - I decided to get Ces a girlfriend. Naturally I chose the Mo sculpt: the second version, which had come out by then. I was concerned that she would look like a boy since I'd ordered the default face-up for her.

2012 - Seraphine arrived and I needn't have worried, she was the perfect little lady from the first moment I opened the box. I restrung Cesavier for the first time with new elastic and everything went better than expected.

2012 - I find a Dollzone event baby on Ebay from a seller in England. I then enter into a bidding battle with another potential buyer and end up parting with £70. Tristan arrives on Christmas eve and Cesavier and Seraphine become a complete little family.

2013 - I want a big brother for Ces and to venture into the world of the 70cms. Initially I plan on buying a Dollzone Yuu which looks like an older version of Ces, but I'm won over instead by the Resinsoul Long's subtle smirk. Nikovelli arrives and I begin my first mod job and face-up.

Seraphine turns 1 year old and I find an instock Mo B limited SD head in stock from a local dealer. It turns up not long after and is promptly put on a 65cm Dollzone body. This becomes Fox (formerly known as Leverence), Seraphine's big brother.

I decide I want a 70cm girl to be Fox's girlfriend as I become a little enamoured with the idea of a taller girl/shorter boy couple. My Blossom-Doll Hyacinth head arrives and is named Chaste after receiving a home-made face-up I'm particularly proud of. After a long talk with a friend he informs me that he's a boy. I decide that one day I'll get him a Doll Chateu body.

Cesavier gets his face-up re-done when I send him off for the first commission I've ever placed that requires sending a doll to someone else.

I remember attempting to buy the Gretel and come across one in stock in America. I place an order and soon enough Gretel arrives at home.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
It's been over 8 years now.

What dolls have you sold?
I sold a BBB Tony, a BBB Sprite, and a Unidoll. I also have some other dolls/doll parts that I have set aside to try and sell, but haven't gotten around to yet.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yes I do! I still have my first doll, Hikaru. He's an AR LF Present Jade ver 1. I also have my second doll, but I want to switch genders, so I need to get her a new girl body. I have my third doll's head on a different body in order to create a new character. It's not very straightforward with all the hybridizing. For instance my third doll's body ended up going to a later head.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
I've gotten pickier about what I want. I still lean more heavily to the stylized sculpts (my fan dolls excepted -- they are all MNMs). It's still a very mixed group in terms of different companies and sculpts, but I feel like now they all look better together and that I haven't just settled for any of them.

What dolls do you own now?
MNM David Tennant (10th Doctor)
MNM Tom Baker (4th Doctor)
MNM John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness)
DZ Mr Bunny (Edward)
DD/Obitsu hybrid using Obitsu 60cm body + 55cm legs (Kasumi)
DD/Obitsu hybrid using Obitsu 60cm body (Alex)
Volks SD13 Megu head/CH old ver girl body (Cait)
Volks Minoru Kamimura head (he's on a temp body right now) (Donncha)
Ninodoll Bada head/Volks SD girl body (Mimiko)
Volks SD Sara (Charlotte)
Volks Myu (Anna)
Kid Delf Ani (Pheobe)
AR LF Present Jade ver 1 (Hikaru)
Leeke Mikhaila Pure Rose skin (Cinnamon)
Leeke Fly Mikhaila WS (Tempest)
Cutie Delf Cory (Emmy)
SoulDoll Paris/Serendipity 58cm boy body (Qaidin)

ETA: The above dolls listed are not ones that I have set aside for sale. I didn't include those, since I've emotionally detached from them and don't really consider them part of my doll family anymore.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
Since 2007?

What dolls have you sold?
Many... i can't remember the order (or all of them) so by company it is:
Migidoll : Miho, Vampire Miho
LUTS: SSDF Regen, Delf El, KD Litchi, SSDF Man08, SDF Howl, SDF Frey, SDF Cian, SDF Ethan, SDF Wintery
Crobidoll: M-line YS, R-Line Yeon-Ho
Dollzone: Yuu (bought him again in a different skin tone)
Volks: SD13 F-26, SD13 Heath, DWC Head
Soom: MD Glati, MD Amber, MD Io
Dollmore: Model Kyle Reese
Dollshe: OE Saint (2010 version)
DOD: DOI Luke
Elfdoll (can't remember the sculpt)
I.O.S: Sezz, M
Supiadoll: Hael
Domuya: Faith
Distant Memory: Peroth
Aidolls: (can't remember the sculpt)
Switch Ryun (old type)
Souldoll: Star

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yep. I still have my 1st 2 dolls. Technically, I sold my 1st doll because I wanted the same sculpt but NS. Not sure it counts since I bought the same dolls even before I sold it. I still have my SA Saint v1, he was my 2nd doll.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
Definitely. I'm moving to more realistic/odd looking sculpts. I used to like Luts a lot, not anymore.

What dolls do you own now?
Dollzone Yuu
Dollshe SA Saint v1
Dollshe OE Saint (2012)
Dollshe IM Hound tan
Soom Dia boy
Soom Dia boy tan
Iplehouse Eric RS
Switch Taeheo
Switch Ryun:R
Limhwa Half Elf
Elfdoll Vivien SpiritDoll Hybrid
Spiritdoll Atropa
Mystic Kids Milo
Ringdoll Kirin
Crobidoll Zion
Volks SD17 Claude Prince
Souldoll Ize
Doll Chateau Christina boy

Incoming:
Dollshe David Kuncci
Ringdoll Edward

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
I bought my first doll in 2010, so I would say that was my official commitment to the hobby.

What dolls have you sold?
A Pipos Cheshire. I also sold a Soom Obsidius head.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yep! I still have the first doll I bought (DS Saint-it took over a year for Dollshe to get to my order) and the first doll that arrived to me (Soom Amber from the MP).

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
Maybe a little, but I've always preferred SD males.

What dolls do you own now?
Amber |Soom Amber Pure Spirit|
Astraeus |Soom Heliot God Master|
Aubrey |Soom Dia &#9794;|
Haru |Soom Chrom Bane of Wood|
Peter |Soom Monzo Stone Heart|
Riley |Migidoll Miho|
Chance |Migidoll Vampire Miho|
Cameron |Migidoll Cynical Ryu|
Michael |Dollshe Saint| x2
Aberdeen |Latidoll Largo|

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
A little over 7 years.

What dolls have you sold?
K-Doll Kill_U head w/ Domuya body
DIM Aleksei
Dollzone Celine
Dream of Doll Homme Kirill
Pixydoll Mano head w/ Volks body
SoNyeonGi Javi head
SoNyeonGi Hyul head
Volks Schulze
Volks Yori
Volks SDGr Okita Souji
Volks Ryu

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Nope. My current dolls are something like my 11th & 13th-16th ones I've bought.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
The aesthetic I like I feel is still mostly the same, maybe refined a little, but I started out with MSD size boys only and I tend to favor SD girls now. I used to look at & collect from several companies before and now am mainly Volks focused. I recently bought my first pet bjd, something I thought I'd never do.

What dolls do you own now?
Volks Bianka
Volks Rose
Volks Hewitt 3rd
Volks YoSD Megu
Aileen Doll Cathy

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
Four years.

What dolls have you sold?
A ChicLine Ineffa, and I have a ChicLine Rou still up for sale.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yes. My first doll is still my favorite and most expensive.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
I've collected so few dolls that it's hard to say the my general taste in them has changed, but I'd say overall no. My favorite company is still the same as when I started, for instance.

What dolls do you own now?
BlueFairy TF Jasmine, FDoll Tiny Amber, FDoll Tiny Rowan, 5StarDoll Mini Chu, and technically Fairyland CL Rou (though he's on sale, so I don't really count him) .

-----

I first saw and learned of BJDs through anime conventions, seeing owners with their dolls and a couple booths with dolls on display. At first, honestly, they were creepy to me and uncanny valley. But as I got used to them and saw more, that seemed to fade away, and I can't even remember how it happened but eventually I learned more and more and got really into them. Somehow, I found DoA, started looking at every doll company under the sun, and trying to decide on what doll(s) to get myself.

December 11, 2009 - I ordered BlueFairy Tiny Fairy Jasmine head and Blossom body, disassembled. She was my first doll, and I got her for myself for Christmas, haha. I also asked my parents to buy a frilly pink DollHeart outfit and Fukubukuro bag so she'd have something to wear. I bought a wig and shoes from the MP and made her her first eyes as placeholders as well.

I was enamored with my new girl, named Dawn then, and learned to do her faceups, bought and tried a few more things for her like clothes and wigs, but I couldn't seem to find a look that did her justice. This silent frustration, as well as not wanting to keep pouring money aimlessly into new accessories, made me stop playing with her and drifting out of the hobby for a time (unintentionally) .

However, a friend of mine was also into BJDs, and when we started talking more and sharing our BJD enthusiasm, it made me want to bring her out and play with her more. Eventually, I changed her name to Dalia Dalhart (going for some cutesy doll-related puns, haha), tried more faceups and bought more clothes, and started selling things I didn't use anymore for a quasi-new-start.

January 04, 2012 - I ordered a FantasyDoll Tiny Amber girl in Light Normal Skin, and she arrived about two months later. She was practically an impulse buy; I liked her because she had a slightly slimmer, more mature figure for a tiny doll and was so cheap at only about $100.

I eventually fell in love with the ChicLine dolls, which were so unique and mature while in the size range I could handle. Fairyland wasn't selling them at that point, but after keeping close tabs on the rumors, they eventually quickly reopened CL sales for a couple months, and desperate to get them before they might be discontinued forever, I went on a frenzy selling as many of my random old merchandise and baubles I didn't need anymore, like artbooks, games, and art supplies. I scraped up most of the money I needed, and my dad, seeing my put so much effort into it, said he saw it was important to me and offered to cover the remainder.

At some point after this, my friend gave my her 5StarDoll Chu, having changed her collection and not wanting her anymore. She was originally modded into a zombie, and I thought I could find a way to work with that, so I didn't remove the mods for a long time. However, I struggled a lot with her, not able to find out how to make her truly appeal to me.

October 20, 2012 - I ordered a ChicLine Rou and Ineffa in BWS from Fairyland. When they finally arrived, I thought they were gorgeous, but as time slowly passed, I started realizing the other problems with having these dolls that had nothing to do with how beautiful and lovely the actual dolls were. They were almost impossible to shop for, their BWS made me so paranoid about yellowing that I never displayed them, and they were almost too gorgeous; I was intimidated about doing anything at all to them like faceups, tattoos, making shoddy clothes, or buying anything that didn't do them justice.

At some point much later, I finally decided that selling them was best, rather than keeping them in the basement in their boxes being too paranoid to appreciate. It's a strange problem to have, but it was a mistake I don't think I regret since if I didn't get them I'd probably still be wishing to have them or dolls like them, without realizing the problems with that XD . If I were far richer or more skilled, maybe I'd be able to handle such dolls, but not now!

March 18, 2013 - I ordered a FantasyDoll Tiny Rowan girl in Dark Tan Skin, and she arrived a few months later. I wanted a friend to pair with my other FDoll tiny, and to finally have a darker-skinned doll.

Meanwhile, I got into trying lots of new things for Dalia especially, buying new clothes, wigs, eyes. I also got pretty frustrated with my Chu zombie, and finally got rid of her mods to remake her into something new. A Dollmore hanbok that was too big for Dalia fit the Chu better since she was taller, and I decided to give her a traditional Korean concept.

Currently, I just spent a lot of money on some expensive outfits, haha, and then I go hearing about getting a big lucky chance at the dream doll I've wanted. Who knows how it'll turn out, but it's getting a bit exciting (expensive), eheheh... ^^'

3 ali

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?

- My first doll arrived somewhere between Christmas and New Year, so it's like my 5 years old anniversary is coming, yay!

What dolls have you sold?

- Unoa Lusis
& some heads and bodies, like
Minimee Ville Valo
Minifee A-line body
etc.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?

- I still have my very first doll, but i keep her in the box, disassembled. Although I've never felt the need to sell her, don't know why, I don't even plan on getting her out of the box yet anyway...

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?

- It definitely did change! Eg I never wanted to have dolls of any other size then MSD at first. Moreover, I was so sure I will never have a guy in my doll family. Now I have all sizes from yo-sd to 70 cm, and the tallest one is male(though his body is still to be bought, i'm a bit confused, we'll see). I'm also very done with the style I started with, now it's all different from what I used to like that time... It has been 5 years after all! Not that the way I style my dolls has changed, it's me who's changed and will keep changing, and so will be my dolls!

What dolls do you own now?

- Besides my very first doll, who is now disassembled, there are
Minifee Shushu head on Rosettedoll body
Bambicrony Marion tan
Elfdoll Vivien head on Spiritdoll Proud body
Dollshe Hound head (waiting for me to finally save enough for his body)

 

I'll try my hand at this one too because it looks like fun!

How many years have you been in the hobby?
I started collecting dolls in May of 2011, so about 2.5 years now, a little over. My downstairs dorm neighbor collected them so I took the plunge and got my own doll as well. I wish I'd done more research, because I ended up selling my first doll about 1.5 years later because she wasn't strung and made of vinyl. She was a 60cm Obitsu Gretel. I did love her, but I found I have a hard time bonding with dolls I don't paint myself. She got a face up (which was gorgeous) from my friend, but her constant elbow breaking habit drove me up a wall.

What dolls have you sold?
I've sold 6 dolls since I started collecting. My first, 5th, 8th, 10th, 11th, and 13th. Though the 13th I actually only gave away her head, I kept her body and got a new head that became a completely different character. My first doll I sold because the character she faded out of existence and was no longer important. I also learned quickly with my second doll, whose body I sold and upgraded to a better one, that I prefer resin.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Most of them yes, except for my 1st, I still have my first few, including my favorite boy Val. He was my 4th doll but the first I really wanted. I was going to sell my 3rd doll because she didn't function at all, but then my partner hybrided her onto a different body I had laying around and now I can't let her go.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
Not really, my collection is mostly semi-realistic I think. It's not too animetic or super real. I like it that way because I don't want them to be real, I want them to be my dolls. I also have a lot of fantasy dolls along with normal dolls I guess. I also realized that a lot of my fantasy dolls are blue based for their face ups. At this point all of my dolls have a face up by me. My first resin doll is a fawn, even if it took me a while to get her a new fawn body after I sold her original one. She's a Resinsoul Ai, but her body drove me up a wall, so I sold it to get another one. She was a floating head for about a year, and it took me another several months to get her fawn legs again. They didn't fit on the new body, so I modded it to make them fit.

What dolls do you own now?

• Resinsoul Ai/Doll Family-A/Soom Beryl Hybrid - Zephyra (June 2011)
• Dollzone Chinese Dragon Girl/Dollzone Miss Kitty hybrid - Talulah (September 2011)
• Dollzone Chen - Valdor Fable (Val) (October 2011)
• DragonDoll Cheng - Mort (November 2011)
• Dollzone Sheep/Daisy Dayes Hybrid (Modded into a Unicorn) - Rose (December 2011)
• Dollzone Shoyo - Ursa (April 2012)
• Fairyland LTF Elf Chiwoo Girl - Diuris (May 2012)
• Dollzone Miss Kitty/Doll Chateau hybrid - LilyLionheart(May 2013)
• Impldoll Aldrich/Soom Chrom Hybrid - Liam (June 2013)
• Mystic Kids Miri - Jolene (August 2013)
• Soom Beyla/Fairyland LTF/Daisy Dayes hybrid - Winter Snow (October 2013)
• Dollzone Stramonium - Captain Jasmine Heronie Lovelette (December 2013)

As you see, I have a lot of hybrids. It's how I get the kind of dolls I want. Like with Lily, I loved her face, but her head just didn't function on her regular body, so I took a risk and hybrided her onto a DC MSD body. I lucked out that she works so well, even if I did have to mod the neck hole to make it fit. I'm hoping to keep my doll family like this for a while, since I somehow got the notion in my head that I have to have an even number of dolls in my collection. So the only way I can get a new one is either to sell one first, or buy two which is expensive because I prefer the SD size. Either way I'm happy with my current collection.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
It's been 8 years now. A friend of mine (Raouken[/B)]showed me her CP Chiwoo when we were in school together and I was hooked.

What dolls have you sold?
The first doll I got was an IH SooRi. He was beautiful, but I soon found out that white skin wasn't for me. I've also sold my CP Tanning Lishe.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yup. Aside from the two mentioned above, I have never sold a doll again.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
Not really. I've always been a stickler for more realistic proportions, which I why almost all of my doll are hybrids. Most of my dolls one my wishlist are dolls that are what you could call 'old skool' now, the newer molds don't really do it for me .

What dolls do you own now?

1. Elfdoll K-SS/ Domuya Flexibody
2. Volks Madoka/Dollstown 15y girl body
3. Gomidoll Iru-HS/Dollstown 7y boy body
4. Volks Sweet Dream Lucas
5. Volks Williams/ Soom Supergem
6. Distant Memory Peroth/ Volks SDGr body
7. IH Kamau
8. PukiPuki Ante.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby? Since 2006 to 2007, I'm not entirely sure when. I know I was "in" the hobby before I joined DOA.
What dolls have you sold? None!
Do you still own any of your first few dolls? Yeah. My first BJD was a Dollshe Hound, still love him to bits. I now have a Doll Chateau Agatha, and a floating Elysium Lud-N head!
Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting? Definitely. When I first got into the hobby, I was very much into the androgynous sculpts. I've shifted away from most of those sculpts it seems (I recently went through my old wish list from 2007-2008, removing at least half of them). Nowadays, I really love the muscular, chiseled boys, haha! The style of female BJDs I like hasn't changed much, although I like more mature looking girls than I used to. I'm more willing to look at less popular companies, and I definitely love unique sculpts! Like, ones that really stand out!
What dolls do you own now? Just my Dollshe Hound, Doll Chateau Agatha, and floating Elysium Lud-N head.

 

Seems appropriate to do this now, as I've been away from the hobby for about a year or two at least, I think.

How many years have you been in the hobby? -Officially since 2008 or so

What dolls have you sold?- None

Do you still own any of your first few dolls? - I have only ever owned two and I still own both

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?- moot point

What dolls do you own now? - the Dok and his little lab assistant- i.e. the two I have listed in my signature.

-
A long time ago in the early 2000's or so I cut out a picture of a special edition dollfie of some kind I found in a magazine in an article about the new hobby that was gaining attention. It was on my desk for a few years, and then was lost in the shuffle and I forgot all about it.
I don't remember how, but early on while in art school I stumbled on the hobby. The male dolls attracted my interest as they suit my aesthetic- I mostly paint and draw men. I joined denofangels and denofdemons and did an awful lot of research.

I attempted to go to a meetup in a mall, but I was snubbed as no-one recognized me in time and I had no doll with me.

After looking at a lot of companies and threads and photos I happened to see a strange body that struck my interest in a box opening thread. It was the new dollzone 72cm male body. It looked emaciated, strange, wiry and a bit gawky and again, this suited my aestetic. I loved it's strangeness. A while later, by chance, I saw a lone body being sold on the marketplace. I soon realized it was the very body that convinced me to buy a doll in the first place. I was positive because of a bit of damage on his chest.

For a long while I had a nude body with no head. Then after a long time I was able to order a head from dollzone to replace the one that had been separated from him. I made some simple clothes, bought shoes and boots and I ordered him eyes, did a simple face-up. Just basics.

A friend flew in and visited with their doll and we took many photos together with them on a magical, nerdy, atypical spring break. It saddens me that with my friend moving now even farther away, the two may never see one another again.

Eventually I knew I needed to get him some company, and ended up once again ordering a 2nd hand doll from the marketplace- a little yellowed on the arms but I have no regrets as there's a sense of destiny to the whole thing. The little lab assistant has good clothes, but Dok does not.

For a long time due to many reasons they've gone untouched and mostly stayed in their boxes. Due to a random dream I've decided to order the Dok some clothes and to get the two of them a couch. I'm hoping that they'll have a little bit of space in my new room layout that I'm trying to pull off (fixing up a corner of my for studio space for painting ect). I'd like to have them both look presentable and be able to be out and on display.

I doubt that I'll be able to ever be a real member of this hobby. I'm a little to busy, too reclusive, too odd and too shy. Still. it's good to know there's a marketplace out here and other people wandering around with the same interests. Still, whenever I go up to people at cons I sell at who have dolls, they seem guarded and unfriendly. So it's a little lonely. I wish I had more friends in the hobby.
That's the journey so far.

Oh well. At least I can enjoy the serene aesthetic company of these two.

 

I'm trying to write a blog about my BJD journey, but I'm so lazy...I'm only on doll 9 out of 40 something and I started the blog in July. This is a question I can answer now though:

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
The way I style them is the same, but my price limit is much higher than when I started. I used to think over $300 was too much, and I've since spent over $1300. Also, my preferences have switched from Chinese made dolls to almost exclusively Korean, though I do have one French doll. I still like pale guys in frilly clothes the most, but another major change is that I started collecting female dolls after only getting males for about three years. Finally, at first I was anti tinies, but now they're what I want to collect the most. Though that's partially due to lack of space compared to when I started.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?

I've been in the hobby for little more than two years now. It all started at least four years ago, though, when I was around 11 years old. I stumbled across Dollmore and found the dolls on there very fascinating. Since they were expensive and I was only 11, I saved a few pictures to my computer and closed the site without favoriting it. I tried to find it again for a really long time, and two years later I did. I've always been collecting dolls though.

What dolls have you sold?

I've not sold any dolls, and I don't think I will do that.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?

Yes, I've only got one resin BJD, which was my first doll. I've not had the money to expand my collection until recently.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?

Yes. Or well, the kind of dolls I want have changed. I am a fast learner, so it didn't take me long to do research on BJDs, but I kept to the more popular sites that create quite stereotypical dolls. Later on I found all these sites that create more odd, unique dolls and it didn't take long for me to realize that was more of my kind since I love things that don't look like everything else.

What dolls do you own now?

I've got an Iplehouse JID Amy.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
Im pretty new but i've been in the hobby for almost two years now. Next month gonna be my doll hobby anniversary.
I first found out about bjds in 2008 when my friend bought her first volks doll. But since i was still in high school i didnt have a bank account at that time thus online shopping was out of the question. The price kinda scared me as well too. But few years ago as i have moved overseas for study i googled bjds again and went back to my fascination with these beautiful dolls.

What dolls have you sold?
So far i havent sold any dolls yet; dont think i will anytime soon though. I am very picky in terms of sculpts and have very small wishlist.
I dont usually want to buy a doll when it is not related to my story so i pick very carefully and browse and research a lot.
One of the plus mark for me in this hobby though is that since dolls are expensive, i cant do impulse buys unlike my other hobbies. TAT

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yeap she's still very well with me but being having three dolls currently i haven't play with her that much though.
Hoping to save up more funds to change up her character and style in the future.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
For type, one thing i noticed is that before when i got my first girl i was very reluctant in spending 300+ on a doll.
But now after being in the hobby in a while i have spent over 1000+ on dolls and dont mind spending more now XD
For style, i was into like preppy and frilly style before for my dolls but eventually went a little bit punk and funky for them now.
I think this relate as well with their character development as now their new style matched their personality more.

What dolls do you own now?
I own three currently, 2 SD and one MSD.
Doll love Yasa (msd), Crobidoll LJ (SD), Feeple60 Miyu (SD)

 

This is going to be something I'm gonna have to come back to edit because I'm still fairly new.

So let's go with the provided questions:

How many years have you been in the hobby?
Half a year, maybe? I didn't start to express interest in BJD until September of 2013, when my girlfriend ordered her first one (she's been in love with them for years now however). We tend to adapt to each other's interests a lot, so I think it was one of those cases.

What dolls have you sold?
None so far! I'm a bit nervous to get into the marketplace seller scene but I get really sentimentally attached to material possessions easily so I don't see myself selling anything in the near future.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yup! But then again, I've only had my first doll for about 3 months now, so he's still super special to me. I don't ever plan on getting rid of him. Same with my second doll, because he was a present and means a lot to me.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
I think I'll always be attracted to the stylized Asian (but not anime) aesthetic, since that's what says BJD to me more than anything else. I have however, quite quickly gone from thinking I'd be a SD13-SD17 fan to a MSD/tiny fan. It's all kind of up in the air right now.

What dolls do you own now?
At home:
Ardese, Ringdoll Teen Crystal NS
Shu, Pipos PO11 Lloyd Sienna Skin

Planned:
Merchant, Luts Kid Delf Bory RSB (actually on order)
Ollo, Migidoll Miho WS-A
Kage, B&G Sapphira NS

 

I feel like I may have all ready posted..or at least answered a question similar but I can do it again!!

How many years have you been in the hobby?
I would say almost 2 years. I've know about it since 2011 but didn't start being active until late 2012/early 2013.

What dolls have you sold?
I've sold two. My Minifee Rena and Minifee Luka. They shared bodies though so I guess I've only sold 1 and a half. ;P

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Nope, I actually gave my last doll to a friend. I'm sure she's in good hands, though.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
I've browsed almost all of the options out there but now I'm more open to actually trying them out on dolls.

What dolls do you own now?
A new Minifee Luka. I think I'm bonding with her better than any other doll I've had.​

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
Since summer of 2008, so now that's almost six years.

What dolls have you sold?
None, yet. But I want to re-shell a character this year, so her old body will go.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
I still own all of my dolls.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
I'm not really a collector, but I can at least say, that some of my dolls didn't change over the years, whereas some changed their hair or clothing style. My overall taste seems to not have changed much.

What dolls do you own now?
I own 15 dolls, one on the way, five planned or wishing for.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
~More or less five years. My very first doll is RS Mei she arrived December 5, 2009.


What dolls have you sold?
~Bobobie Sprite
~Doll love God enjoy
~B and G Nailo LE fullset
~Luts/CP Dark elf soo
~Luts/CP Soo


Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
~Not really. All of my first collection was sold. Except for the RS Mei head(floater).


Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
~Yes, definitely. When I start with this hobby i was drawn to more anime/manga type of sculpt and elves.
The bigger the eyes the better. But now I am leaning more into a little bit more realistic sculpt.

What dolls do you own now?
QUINN Dolkot Kiss
LEVI NYX Limos/ Impldoll hybrid
LUKA NYX Elf little Y/ DIM hybrid
BARON DS Saint
JAQEN DS Bernard
REEDUS DS IM Hound

Floaters/heads
Bianca RS Mei
Jaeger IOS Jaguar
NAMELESS Withdoll Fenrir

DollLove Anona ( I gave to my sister )
DIKADOLL dew (I am selling~ Kinda in a gray area and doesnt count her)
RINGDOLL Lucifer fullset (Still on layaway~ gray area. I still have one more payment to go)

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
I'm into this hobby for real (beginning to getting dolls) is not long, about a year and 4 months. But if I consider myself for interesting in this hobby, it will be around 5 years already (since I began to collect information for BJD). First time, I saw BJD, was when one of my best friend sending me a photo of doll for my writing novel inspiration. She knew that I probably would like it. I still remembered that first doll, I saw, was dolls from DOD. So that was how I slowly into this hobby.

What dolls have you sold?
None of them And I don't plan to sell them in the future either.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Absolutely, all of them are still with be. I plan to limit number of my doll collection to be around 9 to max. 13 and no more doll because I don't plan to sell them, but if the number grows too much, it maybe difficult, since I don't have that much places to keep them and hobby expense may grow too much that I can't afford for other hobbies. So this small collection is enough for me and I can still make some clothing for them to save some money, instead of buying too many official one.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
I think yes... Until now I bought only general type doll; no fantasy one, except a MD V.Miho which has longer ears but no others different from other human dolls (He still looks like human). And most of them has human skin colors like yellow, normal, white and brown. SO my collection just looks nothing special, but I think it suits me the best

What dolls do you own now?
REN : DF-H Xiangyi - Arrived 03-08-13 / Size 62 cm
KATSUKI : IS Calos - Arrived 13-12-13 / Size 61 cm
FAYY : MD Mir - Arrived 30-12-13 / Size 43 cm
ARAAZU : MD Vampire Miho Head x FDoll body - Arrived (Head) 25-05-13, (body) 10-04-14 / Size 70 cm
IORI : DollnDoll Diamond Chloe - Arrived 09-04-14 / Size 41 cm
ALAISTAIR : IH JID Ryan - Arrived 09-05-14 / Size 46 cm
ADELAR (waiting) : Luts SSDF Avalanche Romance ver.
KAGUYA (waiting) : IH JID Asa
SETSUHA (waiting) : Luts SDF Summer Event 2014 head x Mirodoll body

Do you have a wishlist?
I do have plan for my wish dolls or few last doll of my collection in the future

- (nameless No. 1) : IOS Lacromosa - I'm still finding him, at least a head. I'm considering if I want him a full doll or I make a hybrid. But I hope that I get his head first and wish so much that IOS will release him again in the future. So that I can get him together with his default face up, if it's available.
- Ienari Makoto : My next wish doll is Volks Okita Souji 2nd ver. But for him I don't think I have much hope. Same to IOS Lacrimosa, at least I want to get his head and for the best with his default face up...But now I'm slowly giving up one him because how difficult to find, plus his price today ... So I plan to find other dolls which is a bit similar to his style instead and make him into "Mako-kun" character.

 

BJD journey... well here we go:

How many years have you been in the hobby?
I discoverd BJD's and the hobby somewhere in 2006. I've been active in the hobby since the beginning of 2007, so that makes it 7 years now.
Joined DoA right after I got my first doll.
I did have a few ups and down though. Mainly due to being very busy with my work and with following classes on top of that. But there is always that point of renewed love and interest.

What dolls have you sold?
None, they are all still with me. And not going anywhere for that matter
In the past I almost put up my DZ Mo for sale, since I really could not bond with him in the first place. Decided to give him a last chance. He got a total overhaul and that resulted in not selling him after all.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
See above.
After the hassle with my Mo I am not buying anything on impulse anymore. That is one of the reasons why I do not have to resell dolls. And I actually could not bear to sell one, they are like family I guess. It would feel like treason

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
I don't know actually.
Okay I have two smaller dolls now, I might buy an SD one day, there are girls now but no major changes I'd say.

What dolls do you own now?
Locke - OrientDoll Il
Hayden - Dollzone Mo (1st version)
Phoenix - MNF Shiwoo
Maze - modded MNF Shiwoo
Van - modded MNF EL head on Dollzone body
Izrail - LTF Shiwoo
Rain - LTF Chloe
Elysa - MNF Shushu

incoming: Fairyland Chicline Lishe

Do you have a wishlist?
Yes and no.
I recently bought my wishlist doll (FL-C) and I have two dolls on my whishlist which I am considering. But nothing definite.

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
Since 2012. I got the bug from my friend who got them from being in the EGL community (we met at an EGL meet). I had seen them years prior to that and became more aware of them in 2008/2009, since I got into EGL because of another friend and fellow student. I liked them, but didn't think of ever owning one, until I got to hold one in person.

What dolls have you sold?
Dollzone Annie, this year, 2014.
Momocolor Sophie head will be sold / traded with a friend.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yes. I don't want to part with my first doll. He will always be special.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
I find this difficult to answer. I did sell my DZ Annie, because she didn't fit with my Soulkid style wise and I used to think my first msd would be a RS Mei, but she didn't. My tinies are all stylized, non anime, kind of bjds, but many tinies are like that. I'm not limiting myself to yosd any longer. I have gone bigger and smaller. ^.^

What dolls do you own now?
Caelan & Phaedra: Souldoll Soulkids Joelle & Maa in normal skin.
Shoshana & Gioia: Fairyland Littlefees Leah (Soom Glati hybrid) & Ante elf in white skin.
Samanya: Soom Sammi fantasy Romance head in baby pink skin.
Harley: Angell Studio Kimo in grey skin.
Eden & Seirian: Momocolor Michelle in tan skin & Emma (Peapod Doll mermaid hybrid) in normal skin.
Vladini: Doll Leaves Dan in white skin.
Imogen: Boy & Girl Doll The Old World Mini Buryssa in white skin.
Alyssa: DZ Maca (DC baby hybrid).
Michi: Luts Zuzu Delf Lio in brown skin.
Chung-Cha: Limhwa Aria Dodo in white skin.
Mini Sem: Fairyland Pukifee Pio in white skin. (incoming)
Nameless: Aileen Doll Seed in light green skin. (incoming)

Do you have a wishlist?
Yes and no. I have mind pushers. If I want a doll and I can afford it, my mind will think of 101 reasons to buy it. I also have a list of sculpts I think I would like, but often I buy different sculpts instead xD. I do still want a Momocolor 29 tan body and a Soulkid Joelle D. head with Joelle face-up and a Eve The Cat kitty. I also keep having a liking to pukifee Mio and Lati Yellow Lea.

 

Well, this seems like a great way to spend my first day on this forum.
How many years have you been in the hobby?
Four. Some years ago I decided to sell off a vintage doll collection I inherited, and in the process I discovered bjds on eBay. I was initially most intrigued by the face-ups and styling, so my first bjd had a factory faceup. It took a while, and contact with a group of bjd enthusiasts before I really discovered how many aspects of the hobby there were. Quite a revelation to someone who was only used to 'cabinet' dolls and children's play dolls.

What dolls have you sold? None.
Do you still own any of your first few dolls? All of them.
Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?

Yes! The first couple of dolls were fairly stylized, maybe anime influenced, and then I discovered the more realistic sculpts. Then last year I got the urge for cuteness, and got a couple of little ones. Now I'm trending more toward a touch of fantasy, which is going to mean getting some new eyes, tweaking some faceups and costumes.
What dolls do you own now?
In order of purchase:
D.I.M Edmon
Magical-Angel Kelly
Limhwa Mono MSD
D.I.M. Minimee Gwen Stefani
Raurencio Racius head - eyes modded more open, unfortunately, yellowed, on an old SD17 body.
D.I.M. Minimee Lady Gaga head on AoD body - really would look better on a 65 cm body.
Dream of Doll event head on AoD body.
Soom Benmore human head ISO white body
Stine Alec head on a Mirodoll body.
Doll Leaves Babel
Doll-Zone Aurora on DF-H body
CherishDoll Cecil
DF-H Mian Xiang

Wishlist:
Gem of Doll Laura, MiracleDoll Vic.

 

I am a complete newbie and just got my first BJD this past spring a Luts Clary nude. I have since gotten four Iplehouses and have another coming. I have one of my IP for sale now as she is a JID and I like the larger dolls better overall. I think I am hooked on IP and will end up with many more. I have collected dolls for a long time, but am new to the BJDs and now adore them.

 

Just placed my order for Soul Doll Souloid Phiel in gold. Well, he's on layaway anyway! I am so excited, he will be my first BJD!! It was such a hard decision. I almost ended up with Joelle.D but I decided he can wait, but the limited one cannot haha. Maybe next year

 

How many years have you been in the hobby?
I just celebrated my first year in the hobby
What dolls have you sold?
I have sold my vinyl dolls to pay bills and buy stuff for my BJDs. I love my babies. I really don't see me selling these first four
Do you still own any of your first few dolls?
Yes
Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting?
It's too early to tell, really, but I've really bonded with my four babies. My tastes may change, but I could not bear to part with my first four. They have a lot of sentimental value.
What doll do you own now?
I have a Bobobie Tony, a Bobobie Tiah, A tan skin Miro Doll Thunder and a hybrid (Doll Family A practice head on a DIM body.).

 

I don't remember exact dates, please don't hate me.
In 2009, I got my first Pullip. With that, I started following a lot of other collectors online. A lot of them either stopped collecting Pullips to collect BJDs or collected both. For like a year or so, I didn't get the hype. I really loved my Pullips and thought BJDs were creepy and too expensive.

Then sometime around 2010-2011, I was on the Junky Spot looking for Obitsu bodies and on the homepage there was a picture of DZ Annie (I think she had just come out, but I could be wrong). I instantly fell in love with her and was SO obsessed with her, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get her because she was so expensive compared to my Pullips (I usually bought them while they were on sale so I only paid like 60-80$ for each). So that dream died as quickly as it came. But, it sparked my interest in BJDs. I started looking at other categories on the site and looked into other doll companies and things like that when I found BBB Apollo and DOT Calla. I had also made friends with a Pullip collector who at the time had just started collecting BJDs and had a few Pukifees that I adored.

I lurked around the hobby for a few years until a friend of mine was trying to sell one of her BJDs. I had mentioned that if I had the money, I would scoop her up in a second. A few months passed without the doll selling because she had a really strange body (It wasn't her company body, and no one could really figure out where it was from.) and then my friend messaged me. She said she knew how badly I had wanted a BJD of my own and was willing to send her to me for free since she wasn't selling. I was over the moon and so excited. My Lati Yellow Lumi came to me in the spring of 2013, and I knew I was trapped.

The next year was my 16th birthday, so all summer I had been dropping hints towards BBB Apollo. As a super sweet surprise present from my parents, they ordered him and he came just in time for my birthday. I didn't expect them to actually order him and I was over the moon!!! But because I didn't think they'd actually get him, I wasn't prepared at all. So after going out for my birthday dinner, I came home and made him some sweat pants and found an old wig for him until I could get him proper clothes. My parents picked on me forever about him being anatomically correct, though

Then, I saved up for another year or so and ordered my BBB Pixie. I sent her out to get a faceup by Resin Dusted Studios along with my Lumi and made her a wig by hand. She is absolutely perfect, minus the 50cm BBB body she's on. That's actually the most frustrating thing to work with and I hate it. I love her no matter what though.

Currently that's my doll story, it's not perfect but I couldn't be happier with my little family. I'm so excited to add more dolls to my collection and hopefully make some friends

 

I'll keep it short as I doubt anyone is going to read a miles-long post.
How many years have you been in the hobby? Six as an owner.

What dolls have you sold? None yet, but that's about to change.

Do you still own any of your first few dolls? I'll probably always have my first one even though I don't care for the anime or pretty boy style anymore, but I do love his magnetic horns. I use him as a guinea pig for experiments, but he's still around so I guess we're bonded.

Has the style or type of doll you collect changed since you first started collecting? Absolutely. I was wary of preordering at first and only bought in-stock dolls or ones at conventions, which really limited my options. I really did "settle" for what was available. I had pretty boys and skinny girls, all with unrealistic or anime faces. Then I started preordering, took a hard right into stylized Doll Chateau territory before ending up at realistic faces, lovely joints, and musclebound men from SpiritDoll and Iplehouse. Now it's apparently that or nothing for me. I almost always stick to SD size so that hasn't changed.

What dolls do you own now? I started with ResinSoul, then discovered the delightful Medusa and her BlueBloodDolls a few weeks later. I settled for some in-between dolls, then broke my self-imposed preordering ban to buy Doll Chateau's Christina for her crazy extra joints and highly stylized form. SpiritDoll's Herculean was next for his affordable musculature, and now it's Iplehouse all the way, dammit. I'm done for.