1. It has come to the attention of forum staff that Dollshe Craft has ceased communications with dealers and customers, has failed to provide promised refunds for the excessive waits, and now has wait times surpassing 5 years in some cases. Forum staff are also concerned as there are claims being put forth that Dollshe plans to close down their doll making company. Due to the instability of the company, the lack of communication, the lack of promised refunds, and the wait times now surpassing 5 years, we strongly urge members to research the current state of this company very carefully and thoroughly before deciding to place an order. For more information please see the Dollshe waiting room. Do not assume this cannot happen to you or that your order will be different.
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  2. Dollshe Craft and all dolls created by Dollshe, including any dolls created under his new or future companies, including Club Coco BJD are now banned from Den of Angels. Dollshe and the sculptor may not advertise his products on this forum. Sales may not be discussed, no news threads may be posted regarding new releases. This ban does not impact any dolls by Dollshe ordered by November 8, 2023. Any dolls ordered after November 8, 2023, regardless of the date the sculpt was released, are banned from this forum as are any dolls released under his new or future companies including but not limited to Club Coco BJD. This ban does not apply to other company dolls cast by Dollshe as part of a casting agreement between him and the actual sculpt or company and those dolls may still be discussed on the forum. Please come to Ask the Moderators if you have any questions.
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Breaks from the Hobby

Aug 31, 2017

    1. Absolutely! I've taken several breaks, usually for months or even years at a time. I'm not super active in the community, anyway, though that's been one of my more recent goals. Your dolls don't need food or attention, so it's kind of nice to put them away when you need to.
       
    2. Taking breaks is necessary once in a while!
      But this is easy for me as I'm the staker type. I am not pretty active in either the community in general or this forum in particular as I was when I started in this hobby. I have taken almost a year out though and far from all my dolls except for one of them cause I was moving temporarily with my fiancé.
      Life changes a lot, specially when you are young and you are not settled in a routine so the right thing to do is to keep your priorities in line and if it is required that you take a break, do it.
      We'll all be here waiting and maintaining our loving community.
       
    3. Everyone needs a break once in a while. If for no other reason than to recharge you batteries.
       
    4. I've just gotten back from a break of a few years. I moved to a different part of Texas and have been living with my inlaws. I didn't have room to bring my dolls out so they have been packed away. I honestly can't remember which ones I have other than my original boy.

      I'm ready to have my own space again so I can enjoy this hobby and work on getting all of my dolls put together.
       
    5. haha, i'm super busy during the school year so i only do dolls during breaks. i take SO many breaks from the hobby! my longest break was an entire year, between june 2017 and july this year.
       
    6. The one break I had in this hobby was very long, I'd say about 4 years. I wasn't in a good place mentally. I lost all interest in everything, and.. it was bad. After getting out of that, I eventually found my love for dolls again, and all other things I used to be passionate about. If you get busy, it's totally okay to take breaks so you don't have so much on your plate to stress you out further. I have a loot of hobbies, so I tend to focus on one thing at a time, so I can give it my fullest efforts on every one of them.
       
    7. I had been a lurker on doll pages and forums since middle school, but just got into actually collecting my own dolls about a year and a half ago! It can get really overwhelming dealing with them sometimes, and i have considered taking breaks even though i javent been doing it long
       
    8. I've taken several breaks from the hobby, usually for spans of years. My interests and energy can only be divided among so many things at once and since bjds are very much a luxury hobby it's often the first hobby that will get set aside when other important life things happen. The love for my dolls and the artistry and creativity that the hobby inspires is always there though, it always will be.
       
    9. I take breaks periodically, especially if my social life is more bustling, but somehow whenever I'm stressed or bored I always end up coming back here/ doing browsing/ shopping for my dolls HAHAHA
       
    10. I just came back from a long hiatus (about 5 or 6 years). I have been very positive about downsizing and taking a break. It's good to be back with full energy and inspiration.
       
    11. I find that I take multiple small breaks, the most recent of which were all of my dolls were packed up for a move for a few weeks. They're always there when you come back, it's a wonderful bit of comfort when life is crazy!
       
    12. I unintentionally took a break for over a year and only returned a couple months ago. Sudden health problems immediately followed by life stress made me not want to even look at anything related to dolls (no checking company websites, no viewing let alone logging in to DoA) because my reasoning at the time was that I enjoy this hobby so much that I didn’t want to taint my view of it with all the baggage I had from other life events at the time. I wasn’t in a good place. When I finally signed In again, I realized I really should have made myself come back earlier because the doll hobby brings me a lot of fulfillment and stimulates me creatively. Also it turns out I missed major events like the discontinuation of two of my wishlist dolls, the sudden open ordering period (and end of that period) for a body I really wanted for years, a Volks Dolpa practically in my backyard, and a bunch of bjd news. It was a lot to catch up on. And basically what I learned is that even when life sucks, I should force myself to engage with my hobbies, the things that have proven to make me happy, because it makes life just a little easier.
       
    13. I took about 3yrs out. I wasn't motivated, and I didn't have the money to do all the ideas I was having anyway, so I put my boy at the time aside (he's still 'aside' and pretty much relegated from my official collection). Then, I slowly came back a couple years ago. The first time I joined, I was going through a rough time. When I returned, I was going through a rough time again. The hobby is my shelter, my distraction, from rough times. I'm doing better outside of the hobby, but this time (for now) it's persisting. Since coming back, I've added 3 dolls and I've just bought my 4th. This one I've just purchased, he's going to be my first big project in the hobby. I've finally got the confidence to go ahead with one and, dependent on the success, I've got another in the wings. :)
       
    14. I just came back from a near 6 year break. So, hey! I moved citys, got married and was in job-turmoil so I just didnt have the time. Now I do. :)
       
    15. I'm kind of on a life-enforced semi-break right now. I got sick last year and I am not getting better- it could be a while. So I can't really do much dolly stuff. Previously when I've been sick I could spend the time at least sewing in my bed. This time is boring.
       
    16. Dolls, like most of my other hobbies/interests wax and wane. Some hobbies I fall completely out of but this hobby has stuck around for a while for me.
       
    17. It's interesting to read this thread, I'm just now coming back from a couple year break and thought I might be the only one who took a break for that long! I got busy with regular life, and honestly, I have so much BJD stuff I think it just got overwhelming. All the while though, my BJDs have been displayed in a large closet, that I could open and look at, and I've always had a few of them sitting out at my studio so that I could see them every day. My job now is to organize and pare down now to make my collection a bit more "manageable". It's nice to be back though!
       
    18. im returning now from a loooong break lol,,, aside from picking up a new set of eyes at a convention booth, i pretty much didnt put any time into my dolls at all for like 5 years. i had a lot of guilt about spending on anything that wasnt 'useful', and i couldnt really afford to anyway. now im finally out on my own, have a place to live, that sort of thing .... and talking with a friend reignited my love for dolls !! i only have the smallest with me now but i want to get the others from where they're stored several states away and put more effort into their looks and wardrobes before i invest in a new doll. but, also, its just so much fun to get a new one .... <:3
       
    19. I put the hobby on hold for about five years myself. I had other priorities that I felt needed my full attention. I’m coming back after a long time and I feel like some of my doll stuff is like a mini time capsule haha! It’s been fun planning to update all my dolls now that my tastes have shifted and I’m more financially stable. Sometimes stepping back for a while is a good thing I think!
       
    20. I had taken about a years break from the hobby and just got back into it recently. I feel like since its an artform, it just comes and goes for me when it comes to creativity