Do you feel alone in the hobby? (even with the forum)

I don't have any fellow collectors by me either. People that know I collect, generally think it is weird. I try to explain to them but they just don't get it. I have to rely on the internet for Facebook and Yahoo groups to connect. I'm just glad there are doll artists out there. I had a fear that this hobby would fizzle out.

 

Nobody knows that I collect/play with my dolls except for my boyfriend. I am not planning to disclose that information to anyone yet.

 

I feel this problem too living in the middle of Ireland in a small town. Online is the only place where I talk to people who share this hobby.

 

I've only just started in the hobby and don't know anyone else who collects BJDs in person. I don't feel alone, as such, at the moment, as the whole hobby is exciting and a novelty to me at this stage and I'm learning a ton through reading this forum and speaking with people online, but I can imagine that I would like to meet others who have the same interest at some stage. I'm hoping that there will be some meet-ups local enough for me to attend. Nothing quite beats being able to share a hobby and discuss it face-to-face - plus it would be great to see other people's dolls in the flesh.

 

mmm Yes, it is a feeling that sometimes one has in this hobby I feel, except the girls of my community in my country, in my day to day if it is not by instagram or this type of pages, I do not have with anyone to speak the subject , Anyway my best friend made an effort to understand my hobby and she told me all this besides that lately I have made some friends in my own community with which I talk from time to time what we like and that Makes me feel more accompanied

 

Yes, I do. I'm not a very social person and it doesn't help that I'm afraid of people I don't know.

 

I'm part of a local BJD group on Facebook, but I feel like I'm younger than most of the people there, and I have to worry about people in my area being LGBT+ friendly as well as BJD friendly, in a sense. I feel VERY alone in the hobby, even when I try to break out of my shell and leave a comment on a picture or make a post here in the forums, it feels very fleeting and like it won't lead to something lasting.

 

I definitely feel the loneliness. It seems like all the doll people are on the other side of my state. I haven't found anyone in my city who also likes dolls. My hubby tolerates them for me, but that's about as good as it gets. I really would like to at least see a doll in person, know what resin feels like, and see how to take one apart before i get one. Might just ask about a meetup in my part of the state.

 

Definitely :c
I think it'd be cool to have a doll friend I can talk with about dolls often. I know some people IRL who are into dolls but we're just not working out as friends. We're mere acquaintances and it's awkward to do doll hangout or even just talk about dolls. All the doll meets in WA state are so far away from where I live. It's as if nobody in greater Seattle area is into these haha...
Other than that, everyone else thinks it's weird but tolerates it. I keep them away in my room and in the box, so people don't see them when they come over. My house looks rather "normal".

If anybody wants to be dolly friends outside of forum, hit me up! I'd love to have doll friends ^^

 

Ah I am in the greater Spokane area. All the meetups I see are for Seattle. Are there really none close to you? I can think of at least three right now I have seen for over there.

My house is definitely not normal i have a bookshelf full of manga, my little pony plushes everywhere, fish tanks everywhere, and airplane models everwhere too. Me and my hubby are nerds, but our friends are nerds too so it works >.<

 

I feel very lonely in the hobby all the time... Despite having the forum and knowing there are people out there having the same hobby I even have only one person I talk to directly about BJDs and she lives like 4-5 hours away from me still... I'm afraid of talking to people even on the internet and that's why I guess I've no fellow BJD friends... Especially non in my area... I'm from Germany and I've the feeling most BJD collectors here either live in the south or in the east parts of Germany while I live north-west... I even once thought about opening a thread in the dolls meetups forum here just to ask around if anyone lives nearby and would be interested in a meet... But I ended up being too afraid that no one replies and I stay all alone...
Does anyone of you think I just should open a thread in the meetups forum and ask if anyone would be interested...? I really should stop being such a coward I guess... Maybe there are much more BJD owners around and I just don't know...?

 

Sort of, I'm not the best at reaching out to people, not because I am shy or anything, I just never know what to say really. This has made it a bit difficult to find hobby friends, and the fact that there isn't much of a community so to speak of in the country where I live, at least I don't feel like we have any.
I would like to have more hobby friends, irl and from around the world, but given I am quite the lone wolf it will only ever happen if I get out of my shell somehow.

 

I'm not too open about my hobbies in general. I think it came with me all the way from middle/high school, where certain things were "uncool". Therefore, I feel more comfortable being alone with my hobby. I do enjoy reading forums and chats and it gives me enough information and communication. Also, I have the most amazing family and friends, who support me and happy to hear about something I enjoy.

 

@Ruki Pssstttt- you're always welcome to send me a PM if you want to talk

 

I feel very lonely in the hobby, of course I feel lonely in my life in general. I don't have as many close doll friends as I wish for (and had a few years ago) and I miss being able to talk directly to others about characters and ideas and that general excitement. I find that without that social element I don't enjoy my dolls as much as I used to, which really sucks.

 

I was lonely, then I wasn't, and now I am again.

 

Not so much... more like, I wish I had IRL people that understood my enthusiasm.

 

Yes, I feel alone. Will I feel this way forever? No.
Dolls have been around for 4000 years or more. The first SD was made 20 years ago. 20 years might sound like a lot of time for a hobby to catch on, but not when you're dealing with overseas sales, language barriers and months of waiting for a shipment. I believe we are the cutting edge of doll collecting and there's always only a small number of people in the beginning. The bjd hobby is growing - both in popularity and visibility.
This feeling of isolation will change. Maybe it'll change to "where did all these bjd-ers come from?!"

 

I have a friend that got me into the hobby and we chat about plans and updates all the time. I get to see her a lot since we work together. It would be very lonely without someone to fangirl with.

 

I feel awful lonely sometimes.. I wish I could make a good friends offline who respects and are passionate about this hobby as I am. Its hard to find because I work most of the days and when I look for meetup, its days where I cannot go out. Very sad sometimes..