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

Not so much lonely as misunderstood. I live in South Georgia, and all everyone my age (25) does around here is fix up their jacked up trucks, shop, and party in bars. I remember taking my first BJD to work with me one night and people kept giving me bug eyes when they asked the price. "You spent that much on a toy?!" If I found another person who so much as read a book around here, I'd flip - much less if I walked up on someone with a BJD. I may end up going to jail for kidnapping if that were to happen...

The closest place I know where there are other doll collectors is Atlanta and that's a 3 hour drive. I went to a meetup there years ago and it was fun, but I was pretty young so I feel like I was a bit looked over. There was one girl there who was really friendly and she and I ended up chatting and fiddling with our dolls together. She even gave me some manga (which I wasn't big into but it was sweet).

I do wish there were more people close by who was into the hobby though. I'd love to be able to see/touch other molds in person. I have to keep my geeking out over dolls to a minimum, lest I frighten my fiance away. He's pretty supportive but thinks I should just get good at repainting faceups and make money off of it. Not so interesting, thanks.

I'd actually settle for some people online to talk to about it, but there are usually so many people on DoA that I feel like I perhaps fall into the cracks.

Either way, I love dolls. Whether or not I get to share that love with others (and not scare the living hell out them) or not, I'll always enjoy them.

 

I do feel lonely cause I don't (yet?) have any friends who are also into BJDs. I have a few online friends who like them but I can't really talk in detail about experiences and such with them... it stops at "oh this one doll looks kinda cute!".
I also don't think there's anything like meets where I live, not even conventions big enough to meet with other owners.
If I move to the states maybe things will look up there, but before that I hope to make at least an online friend to talk about BJD things regularly~!

 

I'm insanely lucky. I live near a big city and have both friends and family into the same thing. My sister got into it from me, but she always had action figures and stuff so it wasn't a big jump for her. One of our aunts collects them too. People at my old job collected them and brought them to work. There's a lot of meetups, a local Facebook group, and the dolly forums make it even better. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am.

 

Absolutely. Not all the time but sometimes I definitely feel alone and sometimes get depressed. I already live in a different city than all of my IRL friends so not only do I not have THOSE friends but I'm not one for going out clubbing and drinking on the weekends (which is what people my age seem to do here) I'm that "creepy doll" collector and spend most of my time talking with people online....

Occasionally I get really depressed about this, usually when my partner ends up going out with his friends or something and I realize I don't have any friends.

 

omg YES this is something that has been bothering me for a while :/ as much as I love the bjd community here and on Flickr and on other doll forums, I still feel kinda alone because I don't know anyone my age who collects dolls, let alone people in my city! I feel like loners might gravitate towards this hobby because (speaking as a loner myself) sometimes its easier to interact with people through objects, or online because there isn't as much pressure. You can always change your answer, delete your post, and message new people without having to be so anxious, but I still think that the ball jointed doll hobby can be very isolating for people who feel like they don't belong. I don't talk to anyone really in this hobby because I am usually younger than them, and I am really nervous of people judging me/not wanting to interact with me because I'm under 18. It's a difficult hobby to be in when you aren't an adult, let alone when you are a loner.

 

I'm really happy that I've joined the forum. Before I really did feel alone because I'm the only one I know that even likes much less will buy these dolls. It's nice being able to talk to people here about purchasing a $400+ doll and not have them chastise me for wasting my money. It's not the same as knowing someone in person but man being here is a relief.

Maybe in 2015 I can make some friends at a convention?

 

I don't know of anyone in my area who is into the hobby even though I've seen pictures of meets in the capital of my state. O: But then again, I don't really have that many friends to ask about BJDs. Last time I talked to one of my friends (she's not really that much of a friend, just a person bordering acquaintance and friend) about getting a DD/BJD, she said that she could get something that looked like the same thing but for twice as cheap (which I doubted and was insulted that she would say something like that). So yeah, it is pretty lonely not being able to see other people have their own BJDs and meeting up, etc. But, at least I got the person I love and he supports of my hobby and might even get a BJD of his own one day. ^^

 

Well my friends brought me into the hobby. Thou only 1 remains now and she lives kinda far away. (Luckily there is internet!) If I visit her I always try to take my dolls with me. (She and her mother are both in the hobby. It's awesome!)
Thou I am often misunderstood by my family, especially my parents. Sentences like 'what, did you bought another doll??', 'Why would you pay that much' and 'you're a little bit too old to play with dolls aren't you?' Where kind of common. But for now they gave up and just give my those.. disappointed stares
But the good news is that my little sister (14 now) loves bjd's! I ordered a little yo-sd for her. I am planning to give it to her as a present. Since our parents didn't want that she bought a doll. (Guess they don't want her to follow the same path as me) But hey, they can say nothing against a present right?

 

At first I felt very lonely but then I found out my friend was in the hobby too!! So now we skype all the time to talk about dolls

 

I rarely feel lonely in this hobby; perhaps it's a personality quirk, but gatherings are not exactly my preferred way to mingle. (I've never been to one.) I'm much more comfortable getting to know people online; through forums, tumblr, etc. There's less social pressure as kokakid points out. Interaction is much easier.

None of my friends IRL are in the hobby, but there are a few intrigued parties who, despite not owning dolls nor wanting to do so, I discuss dolls with. When it gets to me, though, there are always my dolls for company, and photographing them brings its own joy to the hobby.

 

I feel lucky that there seems to be a fairly social and *friendly!* community in my region that has interest in BJD and fashion dolls like I enjoy. (waves hi to the Ohioans just a post or two above me! See? There are lots of us around here, you'll see.) I'm still too shy to peek in at a meet-up or convention, but maybe once I get my doll just right to how I think she'll be presentable and be able to make the nice impression that she deserves..

As for the forum... firstly, I'm very shy and rarely speak in person anyway. Coming here I'm feeling like an outsider trying to fit in and I'm not sure I have 40 posts worth of things to say this early on in joining the hobby - I'd rather read and research than blabber. Secondly, my doll has no nice clothes, no faceup, lashes, wig, and without those I don't feel like she's really presentable to photograph and share alongside everyone elses' well-polished dolls. Plus, I purchased from a wonderful small company that doesn't seem very popular on DoA, so there aren't threads for my doll and her brothers/sisters like there are for sculpts from the popular companies like Fairyland, Soom, and Volks.

It's hard feeling accepted so far. I feel more pathetic and frustrated each day that passes since I joined more than a month ago and still struggling to "earn my keep" with an arbitrary 40 posts and find the niche where my beloved dolly fits in..

 

I do feel pretty lonely sometimes in the hobby. It took me forever to find a local group, and they do meet-ups pretty often, but when I miss meets and stuff it's really rough. Luckily, there is a doll shop near me (I about died when I discovered it!), so at least I can go get some new bjd clothes and talk to the owner of the shop.

I spent so much time being the only person I knew that was serious about the hobby, so I am very grateful that I can go to meets now and show off my dolls.

 

I actually wasn't turned to BJDs from a friend, and the last person I really bonded with got banned during my hiatus (I don't know why, and I've lost touch since then so I can't ask)

I was really young when I first started~ barely 16~ so I couldn't go to meet ups often

I've only just gotten back in but there sure as boots aren't many (if any?) collectors in the part of Florida I'm in

I def feel you on the loneliness thing :/

 

I'm fairly active on the forums here, I go to doll meets regularly and I have a few close friends who have dolls, and I still feel alone in this. Much of my enjoyment of the hobby comes from writing and making up/acting out and photographing stories, which are solitary pursuits most of the time. So, while you can coo over sculpts with friends and chat and gossip about general doll stuff at meetups, for me the core of the hobby will always be something I primarily 'do' on my own, and that's okay, because it's how I like to recharge when I step away from my more extraverted activities.

I suppose where the sense of loneliness comes in is with the thought "No one will ever appreciate them quite like I do", which is actually good, because, well, they're mine.

 

I feel the same. I introduced someone to bjds from high school, and we have currently stopped talking again. I'm pretty sure that friendship is over.
Which is a bummer, because I don't talk actively to anyone else in the bjd community. But even after knowing each other for so long, for some reason it was difficult for both of us to find time to hang out with each other. So, yeah.
I mean, FL does have a pretty active BJD community. But not so much in my area of FL. And I hear where it is more active some of the people aren't very nice. So I don't feel like driving 2+ hours to go to a meet up to feel even more alone. But someone did recently make a group on facebook for my area. So I'm hoping to go to their meet ups as much as I can I get to know the people closer to my area. And at least have that every few months. I'm just a bit quiet so it's kinda hard for me to make new friends. But I'm getting better. XD
Right now I'm just gonna try and get into sewing a put my mind on other things dealing with bjds. So I'm not thinking about it.
Just kinda find the joy of it by myself, as sad as that kinda sounds. But then if I somehow bring someone else into it, or meet someone new at a doll meet and we become friends then there will be more joy with others and it'll be more appreciated... If that makes sense. Haha.
I'm kinda just working on being okay not having anyone to talk to in the hobby. And if I'm lucky to constantly be able to talk to someone else about them in the future, then yay. C:

That is all.

 

During my first few years I wasn't feeling alone thanks to the doll community in my country. I used to go to the meets too but its hard to keep up with the hobby because of school and my crippling mental health issues so I stopped going. They're very nice people and some of them were my school mates. Right now I'm feeling better and maybe I could go and meet them again but somehow it still feels awkward because I have trouble keeping up conversations. I'm a very reclusive person and loves being alone with my pets and dolls.

 

As I'm in a smaller city in Sweden there is not that many other doll owners here. Though I have been very fortunate since one of my colleagues is into dolls and one girl in my gaming club. But even if I meet up with them often I sometimes feel alone because of the hobby. No one else in my life gets why I like the dolls and it feels quite ailianatin.

 

Sometimes I feel lonely in this hobby, as my mother and close friends find them weird and creepy but I do have a sister that likes to look at all the beautiful sculpts with me so that helps I hope that once I finally acquire my first doll I can travel to conventions and doll meets with him and make friends who are also in this hobby!

 

I don't feel alone. I have two cousins/best friends who are very much into the hobby. We share information and ideas all the time. We also practice making clothes, jewelry and faceups together. I have only been to one doll meet though. It would be fun to go to more and meet new people but usually I am satisfied with just my friends.

 

Not really, because bjd collectors are usually very friendly in my experience, when I meet others at doll related events at conventions. I actually think it's very easy to make friends in this hobby online, or offline, because there's just so many things to talk about. It's just a matter of choice, and I choose to stick to myself most of the time..^^"