Do you ever take "breaks" or "vacations" from the hobby?

Yes. I first became a member here in 2009, I think it was, snd only recently came back. I do collect other dolltypes too (antique dolls and babydolls) and tend to focus on one type at the time. My Dollstown Soph has stayed with me the entire time I was absent. Falling head over heals in love with Peak's Woods Alice in Wickedland series is what brought me back. I have ordered my boys and have a long wait ahead. In the meantime I am trying to stay good There are several other PW dolls I am wanting to add (eventually). I also love DollClans and Dollshe boys. I think that this time I am in for a long haul

 

I've been on a break for about 2 years because students loans are apparently considered more important than dolls.

 

For me my dolls are a break from real life... Moments with my dolls are precious! I don't see myself putting them away for months on end. On days where I did not have time to see them or touch them, I really miss them.

 

Do you ever find yourself taking "breaks" from the hobby? If so:

• ​How long do your "breaks" typically last?

If I do take a 'break' from a hobby it's usually pretty long and often ends in my completely dropping it.

• What's the longest "BJD Break" you've ever taken?

It depends on what you would consider a break. I don't think I've taken a break from the BJD hobby yet. A day without a thought about dolls is a lost day for me. I only have two dolls at the moment and thinking of selling one to fund my second grail doll. I'm currently not interested in buying a lot of dolls so not buying more dolls could be considered 'a break' for some. Mostly if I do stop buying clothes or items for my current dolls it's because I have a very low income and need to spread it between myself, my dog and my dolls.

• What are the various reasons you take breaks from the hobby? (Is it just because your interests wane, or because of finances, living situations, etc?)

Very hard to explain but I have yet to find a hobby besides BJD that I have picked up because I wanted to do it. I have a poor health and a chronic disease on top of that so my choice of hobbies are limited. Most hobbies I can do usually involve me being worse at it than normal people too because of that poor health. It takes the fun out of most things for me. My partner isn't very supporting either, my hobbies usually just get in the way of the things he wants to do. BJD are a different kind of thing for me, there's is no being good or bad at it. It's just about enjoying myself and ignoring the bad comments about me playing with dolls...

• When you get back in to BJDs after coming out of a "break," do you have any guilt for neglecting your dolls or the community?

I think that if I ever took a break that I would probably sell most, if not all, of my current BJD. I love to start off with a clean slate in general. I'm currently too attached to dolls though so even selling one that I'm not bonding with hurts a lot. No break in the near future for me.

• When you've taken a long break from BJDs, do you have to deal with any skepticism from your family or friends about how much you love BJDs? Do you find yourself having the same issues you had with them when first starting in the hobby?

Surprisingly my mother actually said she thought my first doll was really pretty (Pullip). I thought she was going to laugh and make fun of me or get mad. I guess I got lucky and I actually realized my mother wasn't too bad after that. Our bond got better too. I got that first doll as a gift from my current partner on my first birthday together with him. The year after I got another doll from him, another Pullip. Yet he is the one who is now saying I shouldn't be playing with dolls at this age. I don't get it, honestly don't. I try to ignore it as much as possible although I hate it when he calls me childish. Try not to worry too much, this hobby is all about what you like and enjoy. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

If you've never taken a break from BJDs, do you think you ever will? Why or why not?
I'm not sure if I'll ever take a break, I can't predict the future but I certainly hope not. If I do take a break it will probably be a permanent one which involves selling everything off. I don't really do breaks, more like actually quitting.

 

I've been on a break for at least 5 years....

 

Hmmm... I don't know really.. I do have times where I'm more active with my dolls and in the community than others, but I don't really think of it as having a break from my dolls, because I still admire them every time my eyes land on them and think of them often, even though I don't "play" with them or talk to the ppl in the community

 

I take "breaks" from doing things with my doll pretty often, I think the longest was a little over six months straight (this one was due to school and life problems). During these times I usually keep my doll on display in my closet sitting on the edge of a shelf, I see her everyday but I don't take her out of there for very long if at all. My usual breaks last a few weeks, sometimes they're because I'm busy with school or not at my house but usually it is because we often have foster kittens to take care of and I don't want them to do anything to my doll. The only time that my interests sort of waned in this hobby for a while was when I was saving up for my doll (it was literally years) but after getting my doll I haven't taken a break for that reason. I have to admit that I do feel really guilty about ignoring my doll sometimes (and she usually gets new clothes if I have the money because of this) but even during my "breaks" I do lurk on DoA a lot. I haven't had my family comment on how little I play with my doll sometimes, they do however voice their opinions on how much of a waste of money it is when I want to buy Nadeko a new outfit (which happens around 1-2 times per year).
As I said earlier, I haven't taken a break from this hobby because of waning interest, and I don't really think that I ever will but I'm sure that life will continue to cause me to stop actively doing things with my doll every now and then.

 

Do you ever find yourself taking "breaks" from the hobby? If so: Yep.

​How long do your "breaks" typically last? It really depends on just my day to day mood, activity level and inspiration. Sometimes it can be a couple weeks or half a year. It's unpredictable.

What's the longest "BJD Break" you've ever taken?
I can't remember exactly, but somewhere between 4-6 years.

What are the various reasons you take breaks from the hobby? (Is it just because your interests wane, or because of finances, living situations, etc?) Finances can be a big part of it, it depends. Sometimes I have a project in mind and can't afford to do it, and I get flustered that I can't so I'll back off for awhile until I get some cash. I also do bounce in my interests, and there is only so much time in the day. Another part of it is my social life. I find it really hard to be in the zone for crafting or designing when I have friends over. And being on the phone limits me when using my sewing machine (just out of respect to the caller).

When you get back in to BJDs after coming out of a "break," do you have any guilt for neglecting your dolls or the community? Not at all. I keep the people I like or who want to keep in touch with me on my skype, and if anyone requests to speak with me I certainly will, All of my forum/community accounts have e-mail notifications, if anyone in the community wants to get in touch with me they can, so I never have a reason to feel guilty there.
Plus, I don't personally feel like you can neglect a doll. Like, worst case I feel annoyed that I have to clean the dust off their faces and out of their wigs. Even if I don't want to sew for/photograph/craft for my dolls they sit out near my desk on display.

When you've taken a long break from BJDs, do you have to deal with any skepticism from your family or friends about how much you love BJDs? No. My family has the attitude of "At least it's not drugs" when it comes to me spending money. My late grandmother was the only who was concerned about me spending money on dolls. And she was never rude to me about it and would still discuss them with me.

Do you find yourself having the same issues you had with them when first starting in the hobby?
Not really, no.

 

How long do your "breaks" typically last?
Typically like a couple of weeks.

What's the longest "BJD Break" you've ever taken?
My longest was 6+ months long because I was incredibly busy and wanted to spend my scarce free time with other things.

What are the various reasons you take breaks from the hobby? (Is it just because your interests wane, or because of finances, living situations, etc?)
All of those. When I am in a BJD phase I spend 100% of my free time doing BJD things. Be that playing with them, making things for them or looking for new stuff they need online...
The same goes for all my other hobbies though, like art. When I am in an art phase, all I do in my free time is draw, and there's just no time for other hobbies left then.
And I have a lot of hobbies that all take turns.

When you get back into BJDs after coming out of a "break," do you have any guilt for neglecting your dolls or the community?
Not the community for sure because I'm not really active in it. I do feel a bit bad about neglecting the dolls I already own though, because them being so expensive I feel like I'm obligated to do something with them frequently.

When you've taken a long break from BJDs, do you have to deal with any skepticism from your family or friends about how much you love BJDs? Do you find yourself having the same issues you had with them when first starting in the hobby?
Not as bad as - they were all not happy when I first started, and I can imagine my mom wanting me to sell them again whenever I take a break but who cares...

 

• Do you ever find yourself taking "breaks" from the hobby? If so:
  • ​How long do your "breaks" typically last? -A few months to a to a year.
  • What's the longest "BJD Break" you've ever taken- I'm just coming off of a year long break.
  • What are the various reasons you take breaks from the hobby? (Is it just because your interests wane, or because of finances, living situations, etc?)Part of it was lack of interest, Part was lack of money. I bought a horse and it took all of my free time/money.
  • When you get back in to BJDs after coming out of a "break," do you have any guilt for neglecting your dolls or the community? - Nah, my dolls were safe and snug in their boxes waiting for me.
  • When you've taken a long break from BJDs, do you have to deal with any skepticism from your family or friends about how much you love BJDs? Do you find yourself having the same issues you had with them when first starting in the hobby? - My hubby rolls his eyes at me no matter what silly hobby I get into, so I'm used to it.

 

I just got off a pretty long break due to my cat being super sick for a couple of months and needing my attention more than my hobbies did. I still occasionally got to take one off the shelf and fiddle with it, but there really wasn't a lot of time or brainpower for my preferred level of photography or getting the faceups I wanted done. The first thing I did when I started to feel better was to paint a couple of heads, and it felt great! It's nice to know that I can take a break and still find them waiting for me when I get back.

 

No not really, they are times when I don't touch my dolls but I'm always shopping for them or writing about them.

 

Yes I do - I bought my first BJD two years ago, and then didn't quite know what to do with her. Bought her a few clothes and shoes, and then got involved with my many other hobbies and interests. Then about 9 months ago I was looking at outfits online and managed to completely fall in love again and buy a second doll. But still I couldn't quite get beyond buying a wig and a few clothes for her, plus a couple of chairs off Ebay. Then it was a break of months again.

Then, at a time in my life when there is a LOT of stress, I found myself turning back to them and buying a third MSD. Another break. Then I applied to come on here, and having been granted membership my eyes have been opened BIG TIME! Now I begin to see the possibilities and I'm so excited about this hobby that I'm tempted to get rid of my other dolls (babies).

But then again, I have a lot of interests, and sometimes a change is good, so I would think there will be breaks from time to time, and then I'll come back with renewed excitement and enthusiasm. I do wish I could focus on just one thing, but I've never seemed to be able to manage that.

 

I totally agree with Artyrosie here and have had similar experiences.It isn't a bad thing to move away from something, it doesn't mean you have changed or lost interest, just that your situation or circumstances or interests have temporarily moved.Maybe you'll move back, maybe you won't, maybe if you do come back it'll be the same,maybe different , it's all part of your journey.

 

I don't know really..sometimes I was very tired and want to quit, but sometimes dolls help me distract from the real world

 

My breaks are usually long.... I am still partly in my "break" actually. It's probably 2 years now, that I don't feel like being BJD collector, or more specifically... I don't feel I want to belong to the doll community. I never felt guilt for taking vacation from BJD's, it's a hobby it's suppose to make you feel better and inspire you not to push you down, so no... I never bothered to mob myself about neglecting them. More that I am encouraging myself to start again and enjoy... and my friends and family has nothing to say about it I don't bother by others opinions. It's my time, money and fun... I don't overwhelm others with my dolls, so I guess they never felt the need to put me down lol As for neglecting the community... I am not really a friend with BJD people. There are few I have contact with almost daily and some that I like to chat with on flickr, so even if I don't do anything with my dolls I still am somehow tied to the community.... it's scale is just smaller hehe
My reason for "vacation"? Depression. It kills all the joy and takes all the energy. I hope it'll go away some time soon tho lol I got pretty much repelled from this hobby by people who were obsessed about buying dolls and accessory, about obsession to HAVE more rather to enjoy what they already got and about dramas and rudeness. It was a real joy killer. Shame as most of the community is kind and normal, but back then... I felt frustration and pressure, add to it my personal problems, and I just thought it was way too much, so I took a break.

 

I tend to obsess over things, then forget about that thing for a while, then obsess again. This is with all my hobbies, BJDs included. The nice thing is that the "BJD kick" will always come back. I'm currently on a BJD obsession kick lol.

Yes! I didn't really know what to do with my BJDs until I went to a BJD meetup at a convention. Then it was like, oh wow! Seeing other people's dolls and showing other's my dolls is so fun! There's a social aspect to it. I count being on DOA as a social aspect of the hobby.

 

I've taken a couple of short breaks. Sometimes, I get depressed enough that I can't keep an interest in anything, other times it's been financial, and at first it was just that I was frustrated and didn't know what to buy, what abbreviations meant. It is a lot to get you head around when you start out knowing nothing and never have even held one til you've bought it online.

 

Yup, I do.
I ignore my dolls for months sometimes, with absolutely no interest in doing anything with them. That's usually when things get extremely busy at work and I'm just not in the right state of mind to really work on any of my doll projects or take pictures or whatever, even though I also use them to calm down once in a while (i find doing face ups is extremely relaxing). Just not all the time.

But I always come back to them and I never really stop plotting their stories, even during those times when I don't "play" with them. It's worked for the past 6 years; I am quite sure I will not lose actual interest in the hobby any time soon, breaks or not lol. If anything, this helps keep it interesting for me. I don't need constant exposure to the things I love.

 

I'm on a break right now, I was charging at 100mph when I first started. Now I just want to focus on saving some money and focusing on other things. I still love my dolls, they're like my extended family