'Cabinet Babies' or Playthings?

I mostly keep them on a shelf but when I travel I will bring one or two in a backpack with me. Oddly, they make me feel 'safe' in a sense, like having a piece of home with me. However I'm not going to go to a park and sit around and play 'dollies' for the whole world to see.

 

I've been collecting since 2004 and have done more extensive mods than anyone I know of so I know what a doll can and can't take thanks no paranoia involved. I don't handle them with gloves or whatever (and have never heard of someone wearing a mask unless it's when sanding or sealing a faceup), I just have no desire to carry them around with me or pretend like they're real people or whatever it is that I should supposedly be doing so my ownership isn't a "waste."

 

Gloves prevent the natural oils & spices on your hands from affecting the faceup, while you're handling a head. Some dolls have faceups that their owners wish to preserve.

Keeping a doll draped while you're out of the house during the day is good for keeping dust & other airborne filth off of it-- and for slowing the discoloration of the resin, if you've got tan/colored dolls whose complexion you wish to preserve.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle! Stay in school, kids.

 

I decided a long time ago that any doll I had would never be kept in a box in a closet. All my dolls, BJD's and others are all around my house (I do live alone). My BJDs are on my dresser and my desk, which are not in direct sunlight. I don't 'play' with them, but I change their outfits and wigs when the mood hits me. I don't wear gloves though I am very aware of their faceups. They do not go out of the house with me, that probably due to the fact I am over 50 and know I would just look plain silly. They may not break if you look at them but they are very expensive items and I see nothing wrong with taking care of them with 'kid gloves' on. If you can't have fun with them, why bother?

 

Everyone's idea of what is 'fun' is different. Many people have fun just collecting them for the thrill of shopping, or just owning them in boxes, or just looking at them on shelves.

In my collection, there's a division of labor.... I play with the rugged ones & I look at the fancy ones. But they're all fun to me. It's perfectly possible to have fun with kid gloves on, so to speak.

 

When Sarah's new eyes and wig come I will take her out to "play". And by play I mean photograph. Right now she is on a shelf in my bedroom out of direct sunlight with a face protector on. I do this to keep her from yellowing too quick and to preserve her face-up for as long as possible. The only time I bring her down is when I am sewing her a new outfit and need to check my progress. I don't treat her like a rare artifact but I do respect her like the expensive collectable she is.

 

My dolls sit on a shelf on some doll furniture I have (chairs, a sofa or stands) but I do take them down, change their clothes, do their hair and put them back in a "real" pose (people get freaked out by how realistic they look sitting on their sofa, hugging or talking to each other), that is my way of "playing" with them so I guess I am somehow in between.

 

Mine tend to be a bit of both, I do take them down to fiddle with them and redress them and all of that a couple times a week, but for the most part I'm so busy they stay up on their shelf posed playing with their own little belongings. I agree with a lot of what everyone else is saying, usually for people it's both.

But it's also way up to personal preference! ~

 

Nelfa...why are you replying to everything as though it was a personal attack or response to you? You ARE coming across as very paranoid because you seem to need to defend yourself against every differing opinion, even when said opinion isn't even about you. If you don't use gloves or a mask, then I obviously wasn't referring to whatever you are doing, nor was I inferring you don't know how to take care of your dolls. I was replying to the OPs question, not your posts.

Seriously. You're coming across as very defensive, as though everyone somehow judging you for keeping your dolls in a cabinet. I've already seen you over ad over say you don't have a desire to carry them around. Good for you, I got it the first time. You don't have to reply to everyone else and remind them.

 

...thanks, but I already DID know all that, I just think it's ridiculous how some people act like their doll is going to shatter into a hundred pieces, and are convinced they'll never ever yellow if they live like Vampires. I'm not talking about your average collector who takes care, i'm talking about those I've met who are afraid to breath on their plastic gems

 

... And this attitude is why I hate this forum. :/
Oh? Someones opinion is different, and they're stating said opinion in a forum ASKING for it?
Well, time to show how smart I am by responding to them as if they have never had a doll before. :/

Oh, do they need to have their dolls taken away by Dolly Protection Services?

Because obviously someone choosing not to do something MUST mean they have no clue what they're doing, and need to be re-educated. :/


Heeeeeeey. I don't handle my dolls with gloves. I clean them with magic erasers, and just avoid touching their face-ups.
And heeeeyyyy, I don't cover my dolls either, because resin will yellow over time no matter what, and I figure if they're in doors, in my dark room, they're fine.

Oh, but thank you for educating us both, on how wroooong we are. :/

 

I don't even avoid the face up. I know all the "dolly don't" but really don't are. i bought Eric to handle and play with and touch. And yes, that includes his face up. It gets dirty? So what? I'll wipe him and paint it again. Resin chips? Who cares? he's made of plastic, big whoop.

IF you don't buy your doll for tha,t COOL BEANS. That's honestly great, you do what makes you happy, and treat your belongings the way you want. But don't assume that by disagreeing, that I'm either judging you directly, or am ooobviously in desperate need of some education.

 

Syri, you come across very aggressive and condescending in your posts, and your post right after mine seemed directed at me. If it was meant for some random theoretical person you once met and who isnt part of this thread/forum who actually thought their doll would shatter, then please excuse my assumption since that person is not posting here and neither is anyone else with a similar attitude. As for why I reply to people in the thread...it's a discussion, and I'm discussing.

 

It is rare that people on DoA ever engage in actual discussion on these forums.
You see the thread go by, and everyone is responding to OPs question, I'm pretty sure she was too.
If she was replying to you, she would have addressed you, I believe?

 

At least I'm aware of how I come across in my posts; your discussions don't read as discussions when they say the same thing over and over to anyone who holds a different opinion. Note I said, different opinion. NOT someone who's judging you, NOT someone who's even disagreeing with what you do. And if you really think no one iin this thread/forum has expressed such attitudes, I must wonder what threads youre reading so you can direct me to them, because all I ever see on here are posts saying, "Oh no! My doll got wet! Is her hand going to shatter and break now?" "Should I buy blackout curtains to make sure no UV light gets in? Also, I'm thinking of changing out my light bulbs for lower watts." No where in my post did I reference people keeping their dolls as art except to, I don't know, say that's find and dandy and do that if you want. Nowhere did I say, such and such doesn't know how to take care of their dolls, because _____. My post wasn't meant to be directed at someone who just keeps their dolls are something to admire, which is what you are. It was directed at people who seem to think their plastic dolls are fragile scultures made of dewdrops and angel kisses, who are afraid to breathe on them, touch their clothes, and actually keep an air purifying next to them. I've read it happening.

In other words, you jumped on a post that wasn't to you, or about you, and twisted my words to make them suit you.

 

Syri, quotes like "people who seem to think their plastic dolls are fragile scultures made of dewdrops and angel kisses" or "they're not delicate little spun-glass fairies filled with whimsy and pixie dust" are very insulting, insinuating that someone who doesn't want to ruin their doll's $300 faceup, or doesn't want to chip or damage their doll is a paranoid weirdo. You said that you're aware of how you come off in your posts so you...want to be aggressive and insulting? Why? Half the people posting on this thread ask things like "why have them if you're not going to play with them?!" or "I don't see the point in just having a doll on a shelf" or even "having such an expensive doll and leaving it for display only is such a waste!" and so I and others answer "this is what I do with them, and this is the point of me having them." If I were to ask "what's the point in carrying them around with you, and pretending they are a person, and letting them get damaged? What a waste of an expensive doll!" I'm sure people would respond to it and tell their side. My initial reply wasn't ONLY to you, but you were one of the most vocal and insulting.

Even if someone does keep their dolls in a glass coffin a~la snow white and only handles them with gloves, keeps them in a room with blackout fabric over the windows, etc...why do you care? If that person wants to do that then so what? They don't need to be patronized by you. Would such an owner think their doll will "shatter and mildew" if touched? No, but like JennyNemesis pointed out there are legitimate reasons to take precautions. You may not care if your doll yellows, or if their faceup is ruined (I don't care about faceups myself, since I do my own but I sure wouldn't be rubbing dirty hands all over an expensive commissioned faceup and ruining it out of carelessness) or if the doll chips or breaks the fingers off, but to another person that's a big deal. I've never damaged any of my dolls and I don't see how so many people can break the fingers off or chip the doll or completely ruin it by using sharpie, acetone, nail files, etc...it's like hello, have some common sense. However I don't reply to a thread saying "anyone who doesn't own dolls MY way is doing it wrong and it's a waste!"

 

Pffft! What's the matter, don't you like GI Joe public service announcements? Awwww. Don't act so butthurt, and don't be so jackass-rude. Syri said, "I don't understand why people wear gloves or keep their dolls in dark corners", so I explained why. If you already know why-- don't say you don't get it. If you get it, but don't agree-- too bad. There are as many ways to care for dolls as there are types of collectors, and it isn't your place to dictate to anyone else how they should play with their own toys.

 

I say to each their own when it comes to how you enjoy your own dolls . The only thing I ever have a problem with are those who feel the need to judge others based on thier dolls condition. I've actually been told on couple of occasions that all dolly damaging accidents are totally 100% preventable, which to me is just plain bullpoop. I'd hate to think someone thought poorly of me just because my doll has a bit of damage. For all they know the doll could have been damaged by a previouse owner or broken during shipping. On the flip side, I think it's also wrong to judge those who are cautious with thier dolls as strange or over protective. Neither way of collecting is wrong and we really need to chill when it comes to making snap judgements based on thing as stupid as doll collecting style.

 

I concur!

I personally like to play with my Isaac, but because of my house being so small and only one door latching in my house I have to keep him in his box while I'm away or at night because I have cats and they like to inspect things and occasionally they inspect too much and knock my stuff off the shelf and un some cases drag the item in question off to torture (mostly plushies >.>) How ever that's just me.

 

I agree with those who said it's up to each owner how they choose to keep their dolls. Mine live on an open cabinet in my room and I frequently touch them, move them around and take them out for photo's. I get enjoyment from them everyday so I would hate for them to have to be put away in a box/bag etc.. I am a bit more careful with my expensive/limited boys but I still hold them and I even turned up to a meet recently with a tan LE Ringdoll. With displaying or storage I think we should all do whatever feels right for us and just enjoy our beautiful dolls