'Cabinet Babies' or Playthings?

I'm not really sure where the debate is in this subject? I think everyone is just stating how they prefer to keep their dolls, which really isn't debating anything. I think you'll find very few people who are totally opposed to a doll owner keeping their dolls either in or outside of a cabinet.

 

While I can respect someone who has their dolls behind glass, I myself am not that sort of person. The person who introduced me to BJD was careful with hers, but unafraid to bring him out and let us play with him.

My Father actually has made me a rather large set of shelves (takes up a good part of the front of my room...) and I have set up couches, chairs, etc for all my dolls to sit at and converge. None of my kids ever spend any time in their boxes, in carriers or in anything else. They are always displayed on their shelves with their buddies... however I am known to randomly move everybody.

I often take them out as well. To dollmeets, to the Theatre, Dunkin Dounuts... wherever all the rest of my dolly friends happen to be! Sure it's a mite dangerous... but my thoughts on these dolls is I paid a great deal for them and I think that I should damn sure enjoy them to their fullest extent!

At the end of the day, no matter how tired I am or how much I don't want to.... everyone goes back onto the shelf to sit with their loved one or on their favorite couch or what have you. ^^; I'd feel terrible if I had to confine my kids to cases (though I don't have anything such a children or animals to bother them!) or cabinets.

But, thats just my opinion.

 

this is an interesting topic .... its actually something that I've thought about since I started collecting BJDs, I used to make ragdolls before, and they would usually be a dispaly item, with only one being taken outside, but not really a plaything, I collect a lot of toys, figures etc (some I customize) and most of them end up on display after playing with them a little, but when I got my first BJD, my little Edgar, all I wanted to do was play with him and take him everywhere (which I did), which seemed strange to me at first, that he managed to keep my attention to play with him, not just 'do him up' and sit him on the shelf - I guess its just the look of them, BJDs seem to just have so much character that I feel cruel if I don't pay attention to them

 

Most of mine get heavily played with, with plenty of meetups and photoshoots and wrestling-matches and adventures around the city. But there are some that get the kid-glove treatment.... Kaiya doesn't get to travel to meetups, because he's got a Satoko Ohno faceup I don't feel like risking to anything. He gets to go to friends' houses if there'll be ~3 people there and no strangers or dogs or children. Jimmy and Spike are tiny and fragile, so they usually stay home from big gatherings because they're easily squished/lost. Other of my dolls just don't seem to say "pick me up and play with me" very often; like Nico, who gets to go to meetups anytime, but who seems to prefer being a shelf-baby. (The argument whether some dolls can actually be more standoffish than others, that's another matter. ^^)

When they travel, I bubblewrap them unto mummification, and put hairnets over their wigs to protect em from rubber-band-snagging, and strap them into their pillowy bags, and people laugh at how much time and effort it takes to pack everyone up when the meetup's over. But as much as I paid for these dolls (and their wigs)-- I am going to put 5 cents' worth of bubblewrap & a Slurpee lid over those limited faceups and fragile noses, before bundling them up and taking them on public transport. If you can easily prevent damage to something delicate and/or expensive, then it's just common sense to bother doing it.

As for home storage, I sure WOULD store them all in a glass case if I could! That is, if I had the room, and if I had earthquake-proof glass cases that were bolted to the walls. City air is generally dirty, and ultraviolet light loves to fade expensive toys even if you do live in a dark north-facing apartment, so I would love to have an easy way to lock 'em up and drape 'em. Instead, I keep fabric draped over everybody right where they're sitting. I'm not at home during the day, all week, so I can't enjoy them then anyway-- I might as well protect my delicate tanned & beautywhite prizes from fading or turning yellow, and I might as well protect everybody's delicate porous resin from the airborne soot that seeps in through the windowcracks. Everybody gets unveiled when I'm home, or when I have company, and am ready to enjoy them.

 

I bought resin dolls to play with. I think it's fine for other people to keep theirs in mint condition, in the box or displayed in a cabinet, but that's not for me. I'm careful with them, but I play with them.

 

I feel that, even though they're hundreds of dollars, I consider them playthings.

They are fully jointed and are made out of sturdy resin, so why not play with them?

I'd say it's a waste to stick them on a shelf and stare at them. Even my non-bjds are, at least, sitting with toys or tucked in mini beds, lol. XD

Actually, Shiwoo's box is somewhere under my bed and Yukio's is behind a cat house thing. I could never just leave them in there. They're either with me around the house/elsewhere with me or theyre "asleep" on my bed under their own blanket. >w>

So yah, I'm totally for the 'plaything' aspect of BJDs. I have no cabinets.

Maybe I think like this because I've always taken my action figures, toys, etc. outside, around the house, heck, everywhere.

 

I think it's personal choice really. I love to play with mine and redress etc. The same with my other dolls that I collect. I don't think I would enjoy them if they were stuck in a cabinet all the time.

 

I will admit that I'm a little sad when I hear about dolls being kept in boxes/closets/etc. -- I understand the reasoning behind it, I just can't help anthropomorphizing them a bit.

Mine live in a bookcase in my living room, and while they are exposed to (indirect) light, it makes me happy to be able to look at them and pick one up or adjust their poses whenever I want.

I don't take them out with me unless I'm going to a doll meetup (I occasionally take them for outdoor photo shoots, but in general those occur on my back porch, heh), so they're not carried around much, but they're not kept behind glass, either.

I don't think that anyone "should" treat them one way or another, but it's nice to know that many of these little works of art *are* on display and are seen on a daily basis, rather than being locked away out of sight.

-- A

 

Some of both - I play with them and I put them away in their boxes when I am done playing. I don't want to leave colored clothing and wigs on them, I don't want to leave them out in bright light, and I don't want my cats getting at them.

Carolyn

 

Playthings. Very EXPENSIVE playthings. That's not to say I wouldn't take good care of my doll because I always make sure to be careful with my things but I wouldn't want to just leave them inside-I wanna play!

 

I have to admit I wish my kids were made of hard vinyl so I could feel more comfortable about playing with them! As it is I play with them a lot, and when they aren't with me they live in the entertainment center that I have devoted to them and made their home.

*forgot to add.....I am a FIRM believer that dolls and toys are meant to be played with and loved! It always makes me a little sad to see dolls that have been kept in boxes forever, even though enjoyed, but not loved in a way that I think they are made to be.

 

I like having my dolls around, so they spend their down time lounging on their sofa and chairs. I like to play with them, changing wigs, eyes & clothes till I find the right 'look' for them. Then they tend to get posed together for pics. And they get moved from room to room round the house with me. They also go out to meets, and I'm quite happy for any of the other dorrie people to play & pose them. The only thing I am quite careful of is direct sunlight, but as my house faces south I canot avoid this altogether.

Basicly my dolls are my toys, I got them to play with.

 

I agree with the "a bit of both" comments. My dolls are kept in their boxes/carriers when I'm not using them. I don't keep them on display because I'm too afraid they'll fall or get messed up somehow. But when I do take them out, I "play" with them. Take pictures, dress them up, use them for sewing projects, etc. I feel these dolls should be played with and enjoyed, but also be well taken care of. (But I feel this way about all my toys, expensive or not.)

 

I can't put these type of dolls in a cabinet, I love holding them and changing their clothes, wigs and eyes and talking to them, my hubby already knows how weird I am to begin with. I have some Barbies that are in their boxes for a reason, but BJD's in a box or behind a glass cabinet??? That's insane unless it was made of 24KT gold or diamonds

 

If these were porcelain and very prone to breaking I'd keep them locked up. Since they can take a bang or a smash with less risk of breaking and can be repainted unlike porcelain dolls which have to have their paint patched instead of redone completely due to the pourousness, I have no problem with them being handled.

 

yes, i have to agree with the lack of debate to be had here.

i can understand both pov's. i certainly like to just look at my boy. in fact, i pose him on the dresser across from my bed, so i can just admire him as i would a more traditional sculpture. i also like to "play" with him- dress him up, sit him by the computer near me, take him out, etc.

it wouldn't be unsual for a doll owner to do a bit of both (keeping them in display, and playing with them) in some form or fashion.

 

I guess I'm between camps on this one.

When just holding or handling the doll in its entirety, I'll merely wash and dry my hands really well before handling her.

If I am doing something else, like dusting her, re-stringing her, changing her or fixing her wig... I wear gloves as it requires extended contact with the resin itself, rather than primarily her clothes.

When I am not home, she is in a dark cabinet, since I have cats. When I am home, she is either in the cabinet (reduce exposure to sunlight, since our living room has windows on 3 of the four walls.) or out and about the house.

I will sometimes take her places with me. For example, she attended a Spouse meet where the other spouses gushed over her, respectfully and carefully.

I feel that if I spent that much money on a doll... I WILL play with her, pose her, and show her to others. But I'll also be taking other measures to ensure her care and longevity.

 

I feel like people should do what they want with their own dolls, whether it's play with them, display them in a cabinet, or a little of both. I don't have any feeling about it beyond that because a person's own dolls are their own business.

 

Personally I find that dolls that are this expensive need to be taken care of. But that doesn't mean that they should be kept in a cabinet where no one can look at them. I would most definitely take her places with me and pose her and take pictures of her. I wouldn't want to keep from showing her off by keeping her safe in a cabinet.

It's lie the bike you have as a kid that you want to keep new and shiny, and before you know it it's old and worn and you never got to enjoy the experience of riding it. It's the same with dolls, I find. If I keep her locked away then I wouldn't enjoy her as much.