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

Unfortunately yes.As far as i know im the only one i know who collects dolls although i have met some people who either like the dolls as well or simply don't mind them . i leave as i am in the military. Although i do like to travel it's hard to find people who are okay with this hobby and even fewer who like it. MY husband humors me but i know he doesn't really understand how i can spend hours looking through dolls, Or how i can be so excited when i small things or dolls come in the mail. still though im content enough. ( instagram helps )

 

Sadly I have to say yes. I don't have any friends who own dolls or any friends at all to be honest. But the only people I know or can relate to are online. And most of them don't notice me or I'm too anxiety filled to reach out. I'd really like to go to a meetup one day, it's like a dream come true. But due to where I live, little to no one owns dolls and I'd more than likely have to travel very far to go to one. I also feel as if I don't fit in very well because I only have one doll as of right now and of course he doesn't change very often so not much of anybody cares to hear about him.

 

I only have one doll that isn't off topic. I'm sure there are others, too.

 

Sometimes.

When I lived back up in the north I had a few friends who were also into BJD. There were only 3 of us (another girl joined up shortly before I moved but I never got to hang out with her) and we'd go on sushi dates, hang out at each other's houses, have our own swaps and meetups. It was a blast!

Since moving I haven't been able to find that again. I attended a meet up when I first moved, and it was fun, but everyone already seemed to know each other and I felt a little out of place. I think everyone was from the US as well, so I'd need to cross the border for events and I'm not comfortable doing that alone. Detroit is really scary.

I still talk to my friends back home but it gets a bit lonely. I'd like to attend another meetup and try to get to know the local community better, once I have a doll again.

 

I think it's easy to feel alone in this hobby, even if there is DOA. But I think part of my problem is that I also tend to be a loner, and I'm very shy and awkward, so I don't really go out and meet people often...

I am forcing myself to go to a dollmeet soon, though! I really want to know what it's like, meeting others in the hobby in real life! Maybe then I won't feel as alone!

 

I live smack dab between two large cities, so you'd think I'd have plenty of fellow BJD collectors to hang out with... only problem is, both cities are a 1 to 1 1/2 hour drive away. People also tend to want to do meets on weekends and, until recently, I've had to work weekends. (If my interview Tuesday goes well, I'll be working weekends again.) In fact, it was about when I started working that I stopped really doing much with my dolls.

So yeah, I feel kinda lonely. But there's plenty of people I know online. Maybe I'll have a chance to go to another doll meet someday, fingers crossed it can be nearby.

 

I am totally alone! I always try to talk about bjds with that one friend of mine who knows about my hobby but the conversations alaways turn out kinda weird-maybe because of that I do not talk English with her and I feel like English is like the most comfortable language to speak about bjds for me? I know no one of my real-life friends or internet friends who know about and are into bjds, heck, not even someonoe I know. It frustrates me because I feel so isolated! I really wanna talk with someone about our favourite sculpts, etc...

 

I do feel a little lonely in this hobby. There is meetups a few hours from me but travelling is hard on me. It helps to be apart of forums like this and talk to people on instagram and discord have helped me alot.

 

I feel alone sometimes because none of my friends likes bjd. But I am lucky enough to live in a city where there is a group of bjd owner that like to meet up sometimes.

 

I am alone in this hobby! lol. Thank goodness for things like fb groups and this forum tho. Where would I do doll talk to or with? lol

 

None of my friends share the hobby and so far I have never met anyone in real life that has the slightest interest in BJD's. My friends accept it but none of them has any intention to join the hobby. So... honestly I have to answer the question with: yes. Although it sounds much worse than it actually is for me. I enjoy the hobby and I enjoy my dolls, so I don't need other people for it, but sometimes I think that it would be nice to meet other doll-people to share my excitement .
Maybe one-day... to be honest, I am a bit scared to look for doll-meets and conventions in my area, I don't know if I would be welcome as a newcomer in the hobby and I fear people might not like my taste in dolls. I always fear to be too weird for other people xD.
I don't even dare to share my plans on tne characters I am going to shell, 'cause I don't want others to judge me for it. I don't know, but I almost have the feeling that the doll-hobby is so close to my actual self that I might get hurt if I share my thoughts with the wrong people...
Well... I am weird

 

Sometimes, but I don’t consider it a negative thing. I used to host local group meets and we had fun but I haven’t in some time. (There’s another meet group here so that’s all good, locals have a resource!) Now I go through phases where I like to meet with certain doll friends in person and then times when DOA and Instagram are all I really want for doll hobby interaction. Since BJD Addicts has long abandoned the prompts (which I really liked), I don’t really like Facebook too much for doll stuff.

Sometimes my alone time with my dolls is my most creative time. I’m the same with other hobbies too, they are part of my private everyday world even if I’m not sharing them with fellow hobbyists in person or online. It’s exciting to meet with friends and sometimes the doll stories fly furiously (and also the laughs)...but I appreciate the well-thought-out discussions here so much too and I like just looking at the lovely walls of photos on Instagram if I don’t feel like reading.

 

I am in a somewhat similar boat living in a very tiny rural, so not too many BJD or even doll collectors of any kind close by that i'm aware of. Most meetups for me are too far for me to go to unfortunately i am keeping hope for some closer meets in the future though! Though i do wish i had someone psychically close i could talk to about dolls for hours having the internet and people to chat with is really nice at least 3

 

I tried to get my friend into the hobby. I bought him a doll and he bought me one. I believe he would have really gotten into the hobby since he knits a lot, but the college year was just so hectic and emotionally draining on everyone sadly. I also moved this summer and never had time to look for a new group to hang out with. I head back to campus this weekend.

 

Yes. I actually posted on facebook last night seeking a "bjd bestie." =/. If that says anything...

 

I do sometimes. But I think that's mostly due to the fact that I moved 400+ miles away from home to a new state and I don't have any friends outside the hobby, let alone inside the hobby. It can be a very lonely hobby as others have said too, since the dolls don't necessarily require more than one person...

I just hope that as time goes on, 2019 will bring people closer together. It's good to have alone time, but it's never good to feel completely alone. I hope this year I can be more outgoing and message more people first to spark friendships. I'm very anxious about first interactions but I hope i can overcome this (and so can anyone else struggling with anxiety!)

**I want to edit this to add that if you are feeling lonely, please feel free to message me on DoA or my Instagram which is linked in my signature. No one should feel alone in a hobby that thousands, if not millions of people enjoy! It doesn't even have to be about dolls. Making new friends is always lovely!!

 

I feel very alone in this hobby. I find I don't make friends easy in general, but I've also found that people who own dolls are few and far between here. I'm going to a local meet up this month where people come from all over the country but I don't know anyone and am worried

 

I remember looking at the hobby from afar wishing to own a BJD for years but always felt so alone in general. I understood concepts, but there's some jargon I truly didn't understand and had nobody to ask about. Right now...there's definitely a community, but I do feel I'm still alone in it? I have friends who would love to get BJDs as well but I feel they aren't on the same level as I am with wanting one.

 

I'm a loner myself, very introvert and not really bugs me if I'm alone. I've got a few colleagues I like, and they like my doll. But I can't talk with a doll person in real life, I don't know a single person who is in the hobby. I really don't know if doll meets are for me, or not, I am not good in meeting new people... For me internet is safer. But yeah sometimes it's very lonely. Creative hobbies are all really lonely, I think...

 

I teach social language skills to kids as a speech pathologist. Basically, I teach them to move close to listen to others talking, make eye contact, and add a comment that contributes when they are ready. Feedback like nodding, smiling, etc. goes a long way to making others comfortable even if there's nothing to say. The trick is to focus on others rather than yourself. I hope that helps some people to have more fun at doll meets.