Are YOU a doll collector?

I'm a collector. I don't know what happened to suddenly bring it on, but I've only been collecting dolls for a couple of years and I have a large number of dolls of every type and color. I love them.

 

I don't think calling myself a "doll collector" would be appropriate since I only have one doll as of right now. I just bought an Iple JID so maybe I'll consider myself a collector when she arrives?
I DO, however, believe that I am a "hobbyist" because I absolutely love taking photos of my doll and customizing these dolls to fit my liking. The hobby itself is amazing and I am so glad I was introduced to this hobby at such a young age.

 

I collect dolls as a hobby?

I don't tell many folks, though.

 

If I mention my dolls to non-doll people, they often ask if I collect. They seem to expect that you own hundreds of Barbies. I admit that I have owned and collected dolls since I was two. I only have seven dolls though, all BJDs. I am VERY particular. So I sort of hesitate to call it a collection. I am totally obsessed with dolls though, and spend most of my waking moments thinking about, shopping for, and sewing and making things for, or photographing dolls. I even dream about BJDs. I dreamt about them last night, something about an emperor, a trashcan and an Iplehouse. I have the weirdest dreams.

Anyway, I call it a hobby, I call it a collection, but lets face it , it's an OBSESSION!

 

I do call myself a "doll collector" and a "BJD hobbyist".

Anyone who enters my room has said "is this a child's room?" because I don't only have all my BJDs on display, I also have many other types of dolls, plushies and miniature items. Everything's out in the open and they just look as if they were in a museum lol but luckily never said anything offensive...then again, they're my friends and I have told them that I collect dolls before.

So, yes. I'm a doll collector, asian dolls mostly (azone, BJDs, DDs, obitsu, Isuls etc), and the only american dolls I like and collect are the Living dead dolls.

I don't mind when they say things like "you're like a kid" or "they're for children", I just ignore ti....the only thing that I can't stand about non-BJD people is that they see my collection like this: $_$ they always say "if you sell this one, you can buy this and this" and that annoys me to no end!!! I see my dolls with precious eyes, not monetary eyes and I don't appreciate it when others can only comment about "the amount of money you could have if you sell them".

 

I'm into this hobby for awhile (about 2 years) and own many dolls but I don't consider myself a doll collector, although I call my dolls "my collection". The reason? I think it's because I'm enjoying making clothes and taking photos for them more than collecting more dolls.

 

I do call my dolls a collection, and at the same time say I'm in the BJD hobby. I've always loved collecting things, and with BJDs I'm collecting my favorite dolls. The term "hobby" also applies because that word signifies that effort and time is being put into them which most certainly applies for me as well.

 

I collect dolls (bjd, CPK, Care Bears and lalaloopsy) and use them to further my sewing hobby.

 

I consider myself a doll hobbyist but not a collector as to me they signify different things.

As a hobby I make and buy dolls, I pull them apart, paint them, do slight mods, dress and mess with them.... yes they live in a cabinet and I love to photograph and look at them... sometimes I don't have time to touch them for a while... but I would not have them if they were not customisable. I have bought dolls in the past that just stood there looking beautiful and they bored me and so were sold on, and I never gave them a second thought once they were shipped.

I know a few people who are collectors, not just of dolls. Their hobby is acquisition and completing that collection. The hobby really for them is scouring sales and the internet to try and fill a gap in their collection. They are often "completists" who want to find a really good example of everything a particular company produced (or something along those lines). The engrossing enjoyment I get from painting and tweaking a doll, they get from researching and adding to their themed group. For me a doll is never early finished, for them the collection is probably never going to be complete. Hope that makes sense!

 

I think both. Dolls are my one serious HOBBY with a capital H LOL! I spend a lot of time and money acquiring dolls and I have now a fairly substantial collection. But I also take pictures, dress them up, and occasionally sew for them. I bemoan my lack of clothing/shoes/wigs but it's because my doll monies go on new dolls! And while I keep them in their boxes I get them out, sometimes in small groups for photos and redressing. I really love them all and I feel like they are a really passionate hobby that I'm still into after years. My interest has also never waned.

 

I am a collector for sure... If I had enough money I would probably be a hoarder. LOL

 

If I had the money the hells yh! Over the years I want to get 7 bjd's for the 7 OC's that ive created for them. Though again I can hear my wallet crying

Wallet: Save me!!

 

Yes! But I'm not the kind that displays dolls and never plays with them or touches them, I play with them and dress them and change their hairstyles.

I collect BJDs and two other kinds of OT dolls, so my house is basically overrun with dolls, and I love it

 

I define myself as a doll enthusiast. I have no interest in playing with my BJD's and prefer to simply dress them as I please and then display them. That being said I collect dolls, many dolls lol so I could definately be classed as a doll collector but not specifically a resin BJD collector as I don't currently own many BJD's, I own far more non-ball jointed dolls. I don't go mad when collecting dolls, i'm very specific with which dolls I purchase. It is a hobby for me as I do often customise my dolls to a degree plus I do a lot of research on various dolls as well as i'm fascinated with doll/toy history e.g. how certain doll/toy companies came to be, their start-up date, specific doll/toy designers etc. So it is more than just me collecting dolls and putting them on display.

 

I consider myself a hobbyist, not a collector.

The difference for me is this:
-Collector- Has a large collection, probably of finished dolls, maybe fullsets or LE, or have commissioned other people to complete their dolls. They probably don't do a lot of hands on stuff with their dolls, and maybe keep them on display or in storage. This person would be like an art collector, enjoying the dolls as finished artworks.
-Hobbyist- Is very hands on and enjoys the ever-changing aspects of the hobby. They may own many dolls, but instead of just adding to the collection, they probably redo the faceups, buy new wigs and eyes, change clothes, play with the dolls, maybe mod them, create hybrids. Their crew may be a revolving door of dolls, just to experiment with different sculpts and bodies, and may not keep any of them forever, or they may have a few favorites and then have others that rotate in and out quickly. This person is like the mad scientist or artist, always getting new ideas, changing things, and being very active with the dolls.


I consider myself a hobbyist because I am constantly changing things. Except for favorites, most dolls only spend a few months to a year here, while I play with them, try different looks, see what they have to offer, then let them go again. I try different wigs, faceups and eyes on dolls. I do my own faceups, I sew, I've experimented with mods, I make props. I create characters, I role play. I am very active in the hobby, online and at meets. I refer to my dolls as "my crew", not a collection, because I do buy, sell and trade so much, I don't feel like I'm really collecting anything.

 

I think of them as synonymous terms, and I'm always going to tell outsiders that I "collect" dolls, because that just makes sense to them whereas I'd have to launch into a giant explanation of what a "hobbyist" is.

 

I haven't really figured out what to call it yet, though I do consider it a hobby. I wouldn't call myself a collector though. I don't usually tell people about my hobby unless I think they might find it interesting, and then I show them one of my dolls.

 

When I think of 'collector' I think of someone with a SPRAWLING doll collection-- while I've owned many dolls, I don't think I've ever owned more than 6-8 at a time. I'd like that to change now that I've re-entered the hobby as an older adult.

I don't want EVERY sculpt of any particular brand/collection, so I think I'd still consider myself a hobbyist & not a collector.

 

Both for me.

I collect the dolls, outfits that match their characters and things for them. There are a lot of BJD in my wishlist and I like to add one of them to my collection each time I can afford it. There are new dolls and new character ideas I have from time to time, and they go to my (neverending) wishlist that "some day"... I don't want every doll, but I want a lot of them, so it's a collection for me. I think the same happens to collectors of different things: one can collect comics but he maybe doesn't want all the comics in the world, just the ones that are of his interest.

But it there is also a lot more than only collect for me. They are my characters, I like to custom them until they look like in my mind, I like to sew for them, I roleplay with some of them and I write stories for some of the others, sometimes I take one of my dolls with me to whatever I am doing, or like to move them, to touch them, to create with tem. I take care of my dolls and try them to be as perfect as possible, but they are not dolls for display so I play with them too.

 

I personally feel like collecting things is a hobby. Whether it be dolls, figures, rocks, cosplays, stickers, or anything else you can think of. Collecting is a hobby all on it's own.