Are you a collector or a hobbyist?

I'm a mixture of both.
Definitely a collector since i like to have nice unique things displayed
But also create stuff for my dolls to look pretty and unique

 

Do you consider yourself more of a BJD collector or a BJD hobbyist?
I consider myself more a hobbyist than a collector. My background as a writer is what brought me into dolls, so from the start I jumped in the customization aspect (hybrids, custom face-ups and wigs, dyeing... I've also been doing my own wigs and sewing for a while) so my dolls could look like the characters I had in my mind.
It brings me huge joy just owning them, but I enjoy much more doing things for (I'm working on a MSD-sized diorama right now) and with them (for example, having them with me while I'm window-shipping for them or writing about them).
So, I don't consider my dolls anything but a vessel for my characters (a shell or a canvas if you will), so I can express in them everything that particular character is at least physically.

 

Personally, I think I am in the hobbyist category. I buy a doll for to create a character, play, sew, craft and take pictures, I don't really like only display my dolls most of the time and I also have a limited nimber (I think I would feel overwhelmed with too many dolls )

 

For the most part I consider myself a hobbyist, especially with my current collection. I like getting dolls when I have a fairly specific idea for how I want to customize them, and I really enjoy building props for them as well to create a whole setting. All of my dolls have at least a little modding done, or a lot of modding, or have said mods in the plans for them. I really love the idea of customizing dolls into everything you want them to be, they make amazing canvases for characters, and it's cool to be able to have a 3D/tangible representation of a character you have created!

That being said, I think in the future I will also be on the collector side, too! There's a lot of fullsets that I've come across that I would love to someday own just to keep them in their as-bought condition and display them. That will probably only become a reality when my doll budget is much larger, since fullsets tend to cost much more than the secondhand or blank dolls I'm used to getting, but I really hope someday to also have a few pretty fullsets I fall in love with!

 

Collector, not a hobbyist. When I first got into the hobby I thought I would do lots of faceups, or learn to sew or knit...but I'm slowly coming to accept that I really prefer a doll that's a fully realized artistic vision, and it doesn't have to be my own. I do like to give my dolls characters, but I like to mold the character after what the doll is, instead of having the character first...it helps me bond when I can see what the doll could be.

I'm hoping this will ironically keep me from "buying them all" if I try to focus on fullset or at least dolls with faceups...we'll see!

 

More a collector - I bought fabric to make outfits but I have yet to do so. I pay for wigs and faceups and anything I can't make.

Yeah, I collect them for the joy of looking at them and holding them. I need to get back to doing more photos. I've been really lazy about it.

I've never wanted to collect them all, I'm pretty picky with sculpts. However, I do want to try to downsize.

 

I prefer "enthusiast". But I would say hobbyist rather than collector.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

Little of both. I have some I buy full set cause I like the look and aesthetic and have no plans to alter them. Others I buy knowing full and well I’m going to switch things up, add to and change this and that. Some hit me as ‘perfect as is’, others hit me with inspiration to get crafty and style them completely differently. Just depends on the doll.

 

Hobbyist. Before BJDs, most of my fashion dolls got deboxed and redressed, and I mainly bought what I liked, and not every doll in a series pleased me.

When I started collecting BJDs, I wasn't particularly character-driven, but that became my preferred approach. I like having different companies represented, but only if the doll fits in somewhere in my crew. I'd rather not have a doll just for looks' sake; they have to have a name that sticks, and a group to hang with.

 

Hm, I'd say a little mix of both, but leaning more towards the collector label? I do like creating clothing for my BJDs, but for my general sizing it can be easier to source from other places for their wardrobes. Some dolls are bought for a specific look, some I like to play around with.

 

Generally, I think I'm a little of A and a little of B, though I've slowly transitioned to more B and less A as of late. I got to the point in 2021 where I realized that my collecting had landed me with a bunch of half-complete FOMO purchases that didn't really bring me joy. Once I saw it, I couldn't un-see it. I sold off basically all of my collection in a fit and restarted from the ground up.

Now, I focus on projects I really love and am inspired by. New additions have to really eat at me for a while before I commit to buying them. Dolls I have are worked on to completion and enjoyed both as a process and as a final product rather than as something I'm just happy to own that sits in a box somewhere.

 

I'm a hobbyist!

I play with them, change their clothes, do their faceups, sew for them, take pics, write out full characters and backstories, then roleplay them with others. I have....quite a few....right now, but I don't consider myself a collector because I tend to rotate dolls in and out of my crew. I'd say on average, a doll stays with me maybe 1-2 years (though some leave within a week of arriving and my first is still here 16 years later--there's no telling when they get here how long they'll stay). Then I sell or trade it for something else. I love the dolls and the hobby, but I tend to be impulsive and also get bored of the same thing for too long, so I'm constantly refreshing my crew.

 

I’m a collector, I don’t have any skills to customize or make anything myself besides maybe simple jewelry or accessories. I can style them, pose them for display, and photograph them so it feels a little like a curator more than collector. Collecting is a hobby though so I don’t really know what I am, lol!

 

I guess I'm more of a collector? I don't physically customize them myself; I have that done for me because I either don't have the skills or the materials to do it myself. I like the indirect creative aspect of it, I guess. I used to take photos of my dolls more but haven't done so in a very long time.

 

I am a collector of dolls in general - but I am trying to get into dolls as a hobby too. Mostly painting and customizing though, I don't think I have the patience for sewing.

 

Hobbyist here. I can't really afford a full decked out doll so when I started with a naked eyeless boy with only a face up to his name it became this fun quest to find who he was. Styling his wig lead to buying a completely blank doll and trying to do a faceup as well as making a wig from scratch. I've fallen in love with slowly creating these characters and improving my skills. Eventually I want to learn how to make my own eyes next!

 

I’m a hobbyist ^.^ I like trying new craft projects and really love making wigs and doing faceups. I’d love to try every aspect of styling a doll myself at least once! (Making eyes, sewing an outfit, etc)

 

More of a collector, although I do like to rescue older dolls and restore them.

 

I'm a hobbyist! I don't collect dolls, I collect characters~

That being said... most of my dolls have faceups by me, bar some of my custom dollfie dreams, and I make wigs, eyes, sew, take photos, draw them, and write stories about them! Buying things for them is always fun too, of course, but my most favourite thing of all is "experiencing them", really. Being able to have them with me, keeping me company, play with them, throw them little parties on their "birthdays" and so on...