BJD Epiphany

I’ve had a few epiphanies

1. you can make what you want. If you want to dye something lime green and drill a glass case into it, do it. If you want a chest from one company, and arms from another, and a torso from a third, and hands from a fourth, do it. If you want to chop legs shorter, do it—and be preparers to undo and redo—but nothing in this hobby is impossible, it’s just different amounts of work/different amounts of sourcing for parts.

2. if it doesn’t inspire you, sell it. Send it off. Buy what you can inspire you. Buy what’s going to satisfy you. don’t keep things because you used to want them—if the spark’s gone, get something that sparks you.

3. nothing is sacred. And by that I mean, I used to say I could never afford an iple doll—I have 5, and more coming. Then I said I could never afford a full doll from twigling—4 and 2 ordered. Said I could never have a fifth motif body, or an Amadiz girl, and id never find an Eloy head. Anything is possible. Some of it is finding deals. Some of it is getting lucky on trades. Some of it is selling 7 dolls to buy three. But it’s all possible.

4. you’re in this hobby for you. Cliche as it sounds—I used to shell my ex’s rp characters, and that made me feel not at home in my own collection. A bunch of mods, ans even more sales later, I feel better about my collection, but I don’t buy dolls based on characters that don’t belong to me anymore (barring my one fan doll...)

5. something can be beautiful, and I don’t have to want it. Msd’s are amazing, there are some gorgeous ones. I’m an SD only collector. Those really thin Eastern European porcelain doll styled dolls—gorgeous details on those bodies, but their proportions don’t sit comfortably with me. I saw a second hand doll who looked elegant as anything, and I want a doll with a similar aesthetic, but that doll looks a lot like one I bought that has some rough memories attached—I can think a doll is an impeccable work of art, and also not want to bring it home—I’d have so much more money if I knew that in 2015.

 

Being new to the hobby, everything I see and learn I want. I've realized that I need to wait and research and then wait some more before I jump in and purchase.

 

Impulse buys are a mixed bag. Yes, I looked at the photos online, yes I saw it at the store. Yes, I bought it and brought it home. Now I am trying to rehome it with no success so far. Other impulse buys have worked out wonderfully but not all do.

What I need to do is figure out space - I have 2 more dolls on the way and a head in need of a body. So I am trying to tell myself that maybe some of my dolls could go...but I love all of them. So I need a downsizing epiphany.

 

I thought I knew exactly what I wanted - right up until I received my first BJD.

Now that I have 2, I'm learning more about all kinds of dolls available out there - my tastes have done a total 180. For example, I thought I was going to collect only realistic dolls. Today, I put white wigs on both and realized - darn. Now I need to dye them blue.

I'm also realizing that being picky is a GOOD thing. Once I realized what I like, and more importantly, what I don't, it's a lot easier to resist impulse purchases.

 

My epiphany was walking into our office, looking around at my whole collection on display, and realizing I didn't care for half of the dolls in there and I was just holding onto them because they had become rare in the years after I purchased them. I drafted a sales post that night, put them up for sale the next day, and never looked back.

 

Similar to others, my epiphany was that if I haven’t felt that same connection with one of my dolls in a while I can do something about it. Mod, redress, re-faceup, or sell. It’s all about that connection with me and I no longer feel as guilty when the connection is lost.

 

My first epiphany, many years ago, was realizing that my “ideal goal number” for my BJD crew wasn’t really a number at all. Instead my collection was entirely display space-driven, and the more creative characters I could fill it with, the happier I was going to be. So I gave up worrying about numbers entirely and freely designed decorative displays to fill to my heart’s content. Allowing myself this creative freedom was wonderful, but I was still secretly concerned about what would happen sometime down the road when I finally ran out of space. Would I still come up with fascinating characters I wanted to shell? What would happen then? Would I be tempted to sell off some of my dear lovelies just to make space for new characters?

This brings me to my second and far more recent epiphany...once my space ran out, so did my desire to create new characters! It just magically evaporated as a quiet contentment sank in, and I happily realized that my collection was nearing its inevitable and natural end.

 

I've been in the hobby for a long time. When Leekeworld came out with their Mikhaila (spelling?) and their project art body, that was the first of the really exagerated big hipped girls and I just could not see the appeal. The hobby was still young enough that every some what unusual doll stood out and got a lot of notice and many people were crazy about that doll.
Fast forward a year or two and a local girl brought one to a meet.
And seeing it in real life, I totally get it. That doll was absolutely gorgeous!
It's still not a doll I would want for myself, but I can absolutely see the charm.

That day I was reminded that when other people love something that I dislike, it's not always them that are wierd or have poor taste. It might just as well be me who fails to see something that they can.

 

I've had a lot. Some I see mirrored here!

1. Eyelashes. I hate them. When I finally realized my dolls did not need eyelashes they all suddenly looked a million times better. Ripping out eyelashes is so cathartic. And then you can see the doll eyes!! I have a couple exceptions - my one really girly girl still has them, and Agent Pendergast of his own book series has clear ones. That might be it, out of all my dolls.

2. Like @PoeticSoul I finally realized that numbers mean nothing, the actual dolls mean everything. I went crazy in 2010 and sold a lot of dolls thinking I had too many, and hated my collection, only to realize I hated one of them. Then I went crazy trying to get some of the ones I sold back. I have since relaxed about a lot of my collection. It's much nicer this way, zero doll stress is so much better than, y'know, any at all.

3. Selling. I used to sell everything as soon as I remotely lost interest. Doll didn't work out for a character? It was gone. I never reworked or repurposed anything. Then I had a few negative selling experiences and decided to take a selling break. It was amazing. Instead of selling something I'd just put it away. Then the next time I had a whim to buy a new doll to try something out, instead of buying I'd go fishing in my drawers. I have saved SO MUCH MONEY not selling stuff. And dolls that 100% didn't work out as one thing are perfect as something else! Who knew?? Not me apparently.

4. just like @Cltcangel I realized that a lot of my buying new dolls was just to try out something new or to do a new faceup. I'd already done it a lot before I noticed that was what was happening. Often my new dolls are my total obsession. Until they're finished, then they go on the shelf until I feel like dragging them out again and start looking for the next doll. Unlike @Cltcangel , when did realize this, I didn't stop buying, I just buy with open eyes XD which is why I have so many dolls lol
It's also why my most favorites are the "never finished" dolls in my collection. Because as long as I'm still working on them and they're never done, I never lose interest XD

5. My biggest and most favorite. Character dolls. I'd been trying to make them since the first year I was "in the hobby", and it literally never worked out. I had decided they were not for me. Several years later, half my collection are character dolls, and I've realized it wasn't that they weren't MY characters, it was that they weren't the RIGHT characters. I adore the ones I have (I have one that I'm iffy about and it's mostly because the last book I read in the series was so bad it might have killed me on the whole franchise) and am so happy with them. Some are my absolute favorites along with my fav oc dolls.

6. and after this, I'll stop.
I like all the dolls. Seriously all of them. I can think of one doll I'm not a fan of (a specific sculpt from one company), but other than literally that one, I'm just a fan of all of them. Someone put a lot of time into each of these sculpts and they're all art, and all beautiful. Yes, there are those I don't want to own (apparently very few of those), but if someone I knew got one I'd be so excited, not just for them, but for me because I get to see that doll too. Every style from cutesy big eyes, to horror, super-stylized anime to ultra realistic, pet dolls and fantasy and creatures and whatevers. I love to see all of them!
This is the other reason I have so many dolls. XD

 

Recently I had an epiphany thanks to the arrival of my first MSD, a Dream Valley Rosa. Holding her and posing her make me so happy I realized that all my dolls should make me that happy. If they don't, I should sell them on to someone who will appreciate them properly.

 

I think realizing I set my own rules and giving myself permission to buy sculpts that don't fit my original group but do make me happy was the big one I had. The only one who said they should all be part of that original group was me, and that means I can change the rules at any time.

 

That my former dislike of smaller dolls wasn't because they're bad. But that I'm just terrible at painting them. I've got a couple that I was just meh about. But I was only meh because blankness or mediocre faceups put me off.

I'm a bit more open to them now. Ill just be getting company faceups on them.

 

My current epiphany is definitely a little obvious but... you really have total freedom in doing faceups! I only have one doll at the moment and I was really struggling with him (I purchased him 5-6 years ago and only got back into the hobby this year, so my aesthetic tastes have changed since I bought him)... and then I redid his faceup without worrying so much about following the lines of his sculpt, if that makes sense, and it's like I have a brand new doll! I kind of felt like I should emphasize every unique feature in the sculpt to respect it, or something? But I don't actually like all of them equally, and letting go of that sense of "duty" definitely made me enjoy him a lot more. This could probably also apply to modding, but I don't quite have the confidence to do that yet hahaha

 

So, I am in the process of refining my collection and I just realised that all the dolls that are 100% keepers (I really see no way of parting with them any time soon ) are my long-time grails... These are the dolls I'd post the WTB threads about, drool over when watching photos online and check the offers thereof even after I bought them lol xD I didn't see this connection before, but apparently I had right feelings about my grails

 

I just had an epiphany like right this second.

I am currently dreaming about Resinsoul Mi, Myou doll Carr and Doll Family H Edwin. These guys are actually my grails right now! I had this weird notion that grails had to be unobtainable or insanely expensive but these are the dolls I NEED for the story so they're the grails!

W the actual F? OoO

 

When I received my first doll, a 57 cm SD "Oh my? You are not that big! I totally can have 3 or 4 of you!" (At first, since so many people said that 1/3 were too big and that they could not handle them, I was so scared that I could not do it, as a 148 cm woman. And since they were so big, I was thinking that I would only have one. Well...I don't think I can have a lot, I don't have that much space and I dislike feeling drowned in stuff, but 5 is definitely doable. XD (Accounting for the presence of the dolls and the myriad of ancillary items I would want each of them to have...))

After sewing my first dress: "Well I totally get why people charge so much for quality items!"( I am new to sewing, so the result is far from perfect. But I realized that sewing is doable, with practice of course, but it does takes so much time, to do the one dress and to get good enough to make things that can be sold! I still like sewing though so I will persevere.^^)

EDIT: I'll also add: "it it's meant for you, it will find its way to you".

 

Just because its cheaper doesn't mean its of less quality or not deserving of love. I have been keeping my resinsoul in a box for years because I was ashamed that my resinsoul was not as beautiful as other MSDs out there. Now that I have 4 minifees, I took a look at my resinsoul and realized that she is as beautiful as the rest of my BJD family and now I am putting all my attention towards her, getting her the most beautiful wig and proper faceup.