Converting and introducing people to dolls

I did accidentally convert my best friend to the dark side! Sharing some information about BJDs prompted her to do her own research and she fell for them too. Honestly though, I think it was probably inevitable for her; shortly thereafter, she found out another of her friends was a BJD collector too and she would've gotten exposure to the hobby through her instead.

Generally I don't talk about BJDs to anyone I don't think will be receptive to it, as doll collecting does have a certain stigma attached. Not only that, but most of my friends have neither the interest nor the money to sustain this kind of a hobby. This is a big part of why I enjoy doll meets!

 

I don't go out of my way to get people into doll collecting. I have had a few people get interested in my collection just from knowing me and come to enjoy them, even buy a doll themselves, but I never really evangelized them. Two of my roommates did not really like dolls when we met. One was uneasy around them, the other was just dismissive. Knowing me and seeing what I do with mine the first person was able to loosen up and ditch the doll phobia. The second actually came to enjoy watching me do my thing with them. She went from being WTF? Every time I got a new one to being genuinely interested in me "working a doll" when I was. She came to see it for what it was, not just a creepy obsession with dolls, but as me having a genuine art thing and seeing most my dolls as a 3D canvas for me to work with.

I do face ups, though not well enough to do other people's, I sew and intricately hand bead clothing. I make interesting jewelry for my dolls just like I do for selling to people. I redo their hair. I'm actually making my own wigs at this point, and experimenting with shoes and even eyes. I've been working in glass, in polymer and resin doing jewelry for a while now, selling the stuff at craft fairs. Some of those skills are actually translating quite well into making stuff for my dolls.

I think it's kind of hard to argue with doll collecting as a hobby when people see me doing stuff like that. Even my Dad who used to roll his eyes at all my "toys" he's now come to a point of being interested in what I am doing when I am working a new doll. He sees me sewing and painting and stuff and he's curious to see what I will do next. So far with the BJD's he's been a bit more nonplussed. He doesn't quite know what to make of my Miro dolls. I think the idea of my pair of big really green and really blue dolls is a bit perplexing to him. He's like what are you going to do with a green/blue doll? But I explained what I had in mind and now he's very interested in watching the progress I am making with them. He was over here the other day and while I was talking to him off and on I was sitting there working on Aira's wig.

Having seen what I did with Aine's yarn wig he very interested in watching me work the yarn and beads for Aira's. The top of her wig is actually going to be a lot more intricate than Aine's. I have to do some wiring and more intricate beading. I'm making coils and braids and using beads in them. It's not going to be done as quickly as Aine's was. So watching it come together that's been a much slower process and I think maybe that's interesting for people to watch. My roommate and her GF are watching me and commenting on these dolls too. It's been a lot of fun so far the BJD's. I've always customized dolls but these dolls have so much by way of potential I just don't think I could ever get bored really....

 

My mom and I went shopping the other day...My MOM kept picking out things for my doll...XD; I didn't wanna ask for stuff but she kept pointing out little things...So Avalon got a kitty cat, a Star Trek style toy gun that fits his hand PERFECTLY and my OT dolls got witches brooms. My mom said and I quote: "I'm worse then you are!" And she even got Avalon a present when we were at Mitsuwa Market last month...I'm so proud.

 

I've converted a lot of my friends. I even helped one of them get her first doll! I'm helping the other one navigate DOA and giving zir some good starter options. I get stranger questions--I got a lot at the San Diego panel for some reason, some people came just to figure out what the panel was all about and ended up becoming really interested. I'm known at the library by my school for being the creepy doll guy XD As much as one of the librarians, Peter, teases me, he's gotten pretty interested.
It's a lot of fun to get other people into the same things you like. I think of it as wearing a shirt for a band or movie or something--the people who know about it already talk to you and people who've never heard of it also talk to you and sometimes become interested.

 

hahahah funnily enough I was the one converted! My friend is into BJD's but didn't want to spend on one, so she's been admiring pictures. I saw one of them, asked questions...two months later here I am! XD I don't regret it in the slightest! My partner has been wonderful with doll advice and he will be making me a 1/4 wardrobe. I would love it if he got a doll as well, but I doubt it would happen. I will be trying to 'convert' some of my other friends and I am getting there with my mother so that will be fun!

 

I find a bit that those that are converted dont always stay in the hobby for long.

I was converted by a friend who I've sadly lost contact with, and I ended up taking almost a two year long haitus from the community when stuff was hard IRL and I had to sort some serious business stuff out. In that time the three friends I converted who two of which owned 2 dolls fell out of the hobby and all but one sold off their dolls, the one who didnt only has one and though she's not really in the hobby any more still enjoys her boy.

 

Hey everyone!

When I first got into the bjd hobby, my small town community really limited me from going out and making fellow doll-enthusiast friends. However, a few months ago, I showed my friend my dolls (and got the usual, "how creepy" glare), but by the next day, she told me that she looked at bjds all night! A week later, she bought not one, but TWO dolls!

I have since moved to a new town, and already have converted an acquaintance to the bjd hobby! HA!

I'm mostly kidding, but it does seem as if everywhere I go, nobody knows about bjds, and then at least somebody decides to make the plunge and buy one. So, I was wondering, does anybody else have similar stories? Have you convinced or somehow introduced a future bjd lover to buying their own doll, even when they did not initially seem like "the sort", whatever that may mean?

Thanks!

 

Not a super exciting story but my boyfriend is really really fond of my girl. After a bit of persuading and showing him various sculpts he's decided he'd like one (or two) of his own! We're both currently saving to possibly get "twin" kid delfs ^^

 

I got my mom AND my aunt into the hobby. They're on this forum, actually. :p They probably have as many or at least close to as many dolls as me and my girlfriend have now!

The other day, my girlfriend mentioned the dolls to her supervisor at work and she was looking them up, lol.

 

In a way, I guess, I converted a friend and myself.

I used to be very interested in bisque dolls, and was trying to find them. This was probably...close to ten years ago now. Maybe longer. While looking for them, I found Japanese sites with bjds on them. Back then, you had to speak Japanese or know someone who did (or find and pay an agent) to get them. I showed them to my friend, who oohed and ahhed with me. Eventually, they slipped my mind. Years later, when the dolls became more available, my friend finally ordered one. I was like "who would want something like that?" but, after a couple years of persuading, I ended up with my own. I blamed her (playfully) for having no money in my wallet now, and she was quick to remind me who it was that found those websites so many years ago.

Ah, I feel so old...

It is good to see everyone making converts! I hope this hobby continues to grow.

 

When I lived in London I think most of the people that knew me knew that I had dolls and were pretty much ok with it!
But here in Spain.. I havent said anything, I'm kinda scared about it :/

 

[MENTION=853]Candied Kisses[/MENTION] Hi there!

I think maybe you're taking the topic a little too seriously... :P
For one, I think my bjds are a large part of who I am, as they're something I love, so I don't conceal them from anybody, and then two, because I don't hide them, people get explanations of what they are when they give me the "what the hell are those" look.
If you don't want to let others know about your hobbies and interests, that's cool too! But I personally find it nifty when my friends stat to love something as much as I love that something. Also, there are never enough dolly-loving friends around!

 

Me showing Nadeko to a friend was what finally gave her the push to order her first doll but she had been planning to order one for a while so I didn't really convert her but I did make her want to someday get a VOLKS doll though.

 

I was converted by a friend at firts xD she had quite a bunch of BJD, and I loved to "play" with them with her, we had long talks about her characters, and I was wo excited whenever she bought a new one. I finally fell and bought my own doll, that I still own !
And then, in my last year of high school I became friend with a girl who happened to know about BJD and was very interested in them. She finally bought her own one, a lovely Elles from Once Upon a Doll. Even if she knew about them before, I guess I was the one who gave her the little push to get one xD

 

My best friend and I hang out together almost every day. When she comes to my house she can see my dolls. At first she did not understand my hobby. I wanted to be able to talk about dolls with her, but the subject was taboo. Finally she started showing interest. After almost 6 months she finally admitted that she was interested in having a doll of her own, but she couldn't afford one. I found out which doll she wanted and put it on layaway. I paid it off just before her birthday and it was my gift to her. Now she is also an avid collector and we can talk about dolls all day long and she loves it.
So my reason for converting someone to the hobby was so I can have a friend to talk about my hobby who would understand.

 

It has gotten to the point where most of the people in my life taking me having them seriously and sometimes they do unexpectedly bring me stuff for them. My SIL has brought me doll chairs that she's found here and there and my nieces they've brought me little prop type things that they have found at the mall or the dollar stores. I don't take my dolls out much. When I do it's usually to the local craft or fabric stores. They do get attention though. I've been taking the odd sewing class at a local sewing machine/material shop. If the class is geared towards human clothing or things for humans to use I take a doll and make the project on/for them. The teacher wasn't too happy with that at first but I think she's becoming resigned and rather amused that the only projects I want to work with are doll related ones. That's the reason I am taking certain classes though to learn to make doll clothing. I might make stuff for myself too but my reason for learning to sew is to learn to sew stuff for my dolls...