'Cabinet Babies' or Playthings?

Cabinet babies!!!!

 

I do KNOW about the whole "keep it somewhere safe for ever and ever mentality" very well... I grew up in a family that, not only collected porcelain dolls, but encouraged me at a young age to do the same. I got several as birthday presents, but they were generally kept somewhere safe. I think they figured it would help teach me responsibility, value and respect.

Even though I know this mentality, I can't think but feel a little alienated by it in the BJD community... One reasion I love them so much is because you CAN do more with them without having to worry about breaking them... it's not like there going to lose a finger if there hand hits there side...

 

I think a bit of both is good like, I do keep my girl in her box when I'm not taking photos or playing with her, but I don't keep her in there all the time and I don't wear gloves when handling her. I haven't taken her out of the house yet but that's only really cause I haven't had the right opportunity. Also since we're going to get a puppy, I think I'll be extra careful where I put her - I don't want her getting chewed up

 

Everyone has their own way of collecting depending on their tastes and personalities, but for me, I love having mine out and about. They are art I can interact with on a daily basis, which is something I truly appreciate and love. I've built each one of them their own artistic display setting to suit their specific character (although they can visit one another from time to time, of course.) The settings are like works of collected art my dolls can interact with, so the art is ever-changing. And because they're out all the time and easily accessible, they feel more like a part of the family. For me, this is the best of both worlds. Everyone treats them with respect as you would any art piece, but they're enjoyed by my entire family all day long.

 

Display dolls don't last long around here. We have a very active meet-up group in OKC, and a lot of the fun for me is rotating through my dolls to take out for meet and greets, etc. The only time a doll goes back in a box is if it's been sold and is going to be shipped to a new home. My dolls are always out where I can see them, where I can pick them up and faff with them if I so choose, but by the same token they're in a room with blackout panels and blinds on the windows, ensconced on a chest of drawers. My cats are not jumpers, so it works out very well.

I think it's absolutely possible to have your dolls out and accessible, even to play with them often, and still maintain them in excellent condition. I don't drop as much money as I do on these things to not enjoy them.

 

I am currently re-vamping my doll-family- I've sold/traded the 60cm and 43cm and even 27cm dolls in favor of TINY tinies, like my two puki pukis from fairyland and dollfactory pet ari conie- So I can safely tuck one into my purse when I go out.

I am however, keeping one large doll to make clothes and furniture for, and he will mostly stay at home unless there is a doll meet or I have a good place to shoot pictures of his new stuff- otherwise he'll be a shelf-lounger... and although he's be on a shelf, I'd still play with him indoors.

But my dolls spend about a good amount of time tucked away on a shelf, but I rotate them so all of them get to go out with me, or get to visit the parks that I frequent, as well as having full run of the house.

So at times, dolls should be played with, I love to throw caution to the wind and drag my genderless lilac sprite around outdoors in the sun (or light rain- I'm not going to disregard all reason) to have fun with her in the trees.

 

My Dollshe elves stand proudly behind the glass of a cabinet. The are kind of unwieldy with their stiff bodies and their elaborate garments. I take them out only for pictures, once their looks are completed, I don't change them. My Mecha Angels, however, are all over the place, handled rather roughly, re-dressed, posed, in other words, played with vigorously. The one who gets most lap time is the YoSD, because he is just so pleasant to handle.

 

I have several non-posing/fragile resin statues and figures. That why I love BJDs! I handle them with care, but enjoy posing them. By the nature of BJDs in general, I believe that they meant to be part of a social,interactive hobby.

 

I think you may want to reevaluate this attitude on a case-by-case basis. Look at that smile - my Soom merman is most definitely not "sad"! He just doesn't travel. XD He has fragile pointy bits & pearlized body blushing; I spent eleven hundred bucks on him; so I'm not taking him into a sandbox and letting greasy kids squee all over him. And anybody who makes a color printout of him and hangs it on the wall is only deluding themselves that it projects the same majesty into a room as this doll does. Whenever I step into the living-room, and I cast my eyes on that shelf where Lalyraa here is holding court, I feel like dancing. One person's collectible provides enough enjoyment by being viewed as another person's stuffie toy does by being dragged around and chewed on.

On the other hand... my little SchoolHead B boy definitely seems to look happiest when I'm dragging him around on hiking-trips & balancing him in places where banana-slugs live. Each doll has his own job to do! Some are here to look radiant and exquisite and beautiful on the shelf, and some are meant to go to meetups and go trolling for banana-slugs.

 

I think that if you spend this much money on something you should enjoy it. Whether that be keeping the doll, indeed, in a cabinet OR taking him/her on doll meets, photoshoots, or just to play(ect.).

I personally could not imagine keeping my doll in a cabinet/on a shelf all of the time. If I buy a doll it will have a character and I want that character to be able to go on adventures through photostories, I want to show the dolls off to others by taking them to doll meets and I want them to hang out with me when I'm just around the house(like sitting on my computer desk, or sitting on my bed while I read magazines or a book). I couldn't have fun with the doll if it just sat inactive on a shelf. The reason I purchase dolls is to have fun with them and I don't think leaving them alone in a cabinet (even though they do look very gorgeous) is very much fun.

 

A "plaything" definitely, but not the way 5 years old do...
They are expensive and fragile, but this should not stop you from doing what you want with them
cuddle, dress, change face-up, take pictures and love them.
Cabinet dolls, for me is so archaic. Strictly stored dolls are lonely dolls

 

I wouldn't keep them in a cabinet, but I do treat them with care. I don't find them playthings but only really handle them to change their look. To be honest I'm not sure how I would play with them

 

Dolls are totally 'cabinet babies' for me. Or rather - collectibles if I were to choose the wording.
I do take them for doll meet-ups, but I usually take alot of care to make sure no danger may occure near my dear resin. At home, I keep them displayed behind a glass-door of a cabinet.

My view is predictable though - every owner is entitled to do whatever he or she want's to do with a doll. That's what hobbies generally are for. To give you entertainment or pleasure whichever way you choose.

I collect Volks dolls. They're one of those significantly more expensive and because I've made this decision I have also had to agree I'm purchasing items of great, great value and I would show a big lack of respect to my money earned and peronal property, which dolls obviously are, if I haven't treated them as 'cabinet babies'. I simply think that they're way too expensive to treat them so carelessly as carrying around and 'playing' with them.

I do have problems understanding people who 'play' with dolls, carrying them like expensive accessories but that's because I have a different feeling sbout bjd's. I wouldn't walk around with an old Chinese Vase if I had one. That's why I don't go running around with my doll.

This subject actually bothers me when pruchasing dolls second-hand. I'm always worried how much of a good condition 'good condition' has if the owner was one of those 'playing' with dolls. Please, don't try to tell me walking outside and making alot of in-nature photoshoots doesn't get your doll dirty! They get dusty even staying all-day-long at home!

 

I think BJDs fall onto the line separating the two, frankly. They can be one, the other, or both.

 

i would understand that they want to take care of their dolls but come on glass box and gloved hands!these dolls were made to be played with and to be endlessly customizeable!*snickers to self*(glass box and gloves)!

 

aside maybe any damage done during a photo shoot, the dirt can always be washed. easy fix.=)

 

My dolls are not cabinet babies. My house, and especially my bedroom gets way to much sun for that, and since sunlight (and heat) speed up the resin oxidation reactions (and yellowing) I'm not even going to consider displaying them in a million years. I tried once, only to wake up at 9 am to see them literally sunbathing head to toe, and that was the end of that. I've seen what sun sneakily did to some people's display dolls (like, slowly turning one side more yellow than the other without them noticing until they took a closer look at the naked doll) Plus, dust on them looks ugly, and is difficult to clean.

I do occasionally take them out for photos or wardrobe change (though when we go to photoshoots, they ride in full packing gear - a face-protector, bubble-wrap gloves around the more fragile parts like hands, plus a nice plush blanket to wrap them in), but they are way too precious to me (especially after I invest a lot of money in their nice face-ups and expensive clothes) to wave them around by their foot like I see some people do. To be honest... I lost all of my ability to actually "play" with my dolls when I hit puberty. I can't do it anymore, and in a way I sort of regret it because I remember it being lots of fun, but I guess it just means I'm going to have to "play" differently now. And by that I mean, I'll take them out and just admire them or change their clothes to something nice and new that I got/made for them. (Oh, that's probably the closest I'll ever come to playing - making their clothes, measuring them to draft patterns)

The rest of the time they spend "sleeping" in their boxes, in a cool area of my room right near a crack between the floor and the wall so they get cooled by the drafts. I take a lot of pride in keeping my dolls nearly pristine, because I know that they'll age a lot more slowly and gracefully because of my care, and I'll be able to enjoy them 10+ years down the line.

 

"Do you think dolls should be played with?"
With the proper hands. I don't think these dolls are for little children who can't grasp the concept of gentle or clean hands. I wouldn't let people with nasty on their fingers or who are screaming and yelling and loosing their marbles touch my doll. Resin is durable, but not that durable. And I don't think they should be kept on a cabinet either. After all, you've invested a lot of time, money, energy, blood, sweat and tears over this doll only to make it a decoration. All of that hard work should be paid off and enjoyed, while I don't mean to say you should play with your doll every day or roughly, or never put it on a shelf, but it should be given some attention.

 

I'm not saying you shouldn't treat them as cabinet babies, if that's what gives you the most enjoyment. But, do realize that 'play' is not synonymous with 'carelessness.' Abjds need to be treated with care, but at the same time they are not hugely fragile. They would not hold up well to rougher child play, but adult play is another thing. I can take my doll out for a photoshoot or meetup without dropping it, swinging it around by it's ankles, etc. I can have one near me or hold one while I watch TV, and it's not going to get covered in sticky goo, stuck in the sofa cushions or sat on.

Handling does get more dirt on them, but it also comes off quite easily. While the best way to negate any chance of oopsies is to leave them in a cabinet and to handle them as little as possible, if that keeps an owner from having fun, then all that money spent is going to be a complete waste. For the record, I've bought many of my dolls second hand, and most have been in excellent condition. The only ones that did have issues, I was told about upfront and was fine with it, the rest looked as good as new. It's amazing how well they hold up to handling and can clean up with very little effort.

People should absolutely do whatever makes them happy with their dolls -- whether it's packing them around or leaving them in a cabinet, but they should also realize for the sake of their own nerves that they aren't made out of glass.

 

I won't lie, Rei and Kia spend a LOT of time on the shelf.
But I hug them. I cuddle them. I give them to 4-year-olds to play dressup with. I make them do fancy dances.
So yes, dollies are playthings. Big, expensive, artistic playthings.