Do you spend more time thinking about or handling your dolls?

In my earlier years in the hobby, I definitely handled them way more, taking photos/dressing them/posing them, it was like the 'honeymoon phase' since the hobby was so new to me and all I wanted to do was 'play' with them. These days however, I definitely spend more time thinking about them than I do handling them. I do still handle them occasionally just not quite as much as I used to. I'm at a stage where I only handle 1 doll in my collection at a time since they're the ones I'm actively working on to complete whether it be a name, faceup, outfit, or all of the above (I have so many unfinished lol) All my BJDs reside in 1 cabinet all together, so right now my Dollits SooHee is outside nearby as I she is the one I am currently and actively trying to complete before I move onto the next doll (I have all my dolls on a roulette wheel since I'm so bad at making decisions lololol) I finally figured out a name for her and ordered her an outfit and wig not too long ago so now I just need to send her off for a faceup and she'll be all done. Then onto the next~ I'm not letting myself buy any new dolls until I finish working on the ones I have, and boy is it a STRUGGLE lol temptation is everywhere.

 

Definitely thinking. My dolls are physical representations of my roleplay characters, and I do RP almost every night in some form or other. I handle my dolls somewhat frequently, some a lot more than others. The favorites get handled at least a few times a week. The others might go a week or sometimes even a month without being handled. Depends on my mood and which one needs work or sewing or got new stuff.

 

It’s embarrassing, but though I don’t have the time to handle them every day, I make sure to give each of them a kiss on the head every day. The ones I can’t reach get a kiss on my hand which then pats them. It’s really embarrassing but they feel like my cute little friends, so I don’t like to leave them alone too much.

When I do have time, I love dressing them up, sewing for them, taking photos I never share, and spoiling them. I also like to paint dolls and blush them and generally customize them. I love looking at dolls online, but I don’t know if I could actually put a definite ratio for online vs in person doll interaction.

 

@Ariemea That's so adorable! Though I don't kiss my dolls, I like holding their little hands or stroking the wig hair when I handle them It's comforting!

 

I think about them a lot more before they arrive. Once they arrive, I give them a faceup, then they go on display. If they need clothing or a wig or eyes, I do think about them a bit more.

Otherwise, they are out of sight, out of mind, while I focus on other things. But when I need a break from the mundane, I choose one at the end of the day, and either change her outfit, or I start a new project for her. I just got a sewing machine and I love sewing for my dolls so much. I probably get 1-3 nights a week that I can spend doting on my dolls unless some new goodies have arrived for them (I excuse myself from daily life for 30 minutes on those evenings lol). Life is so busy, and I don’t have time to myself usually, so when inspiration calls, and opportunity arises, crafting or photography for my dolls is a lovely escape.

 

I only handle my dolls for photo record purposes due to not having a permanent home. We move frequently for many reasons, so it's taken me years to open my dolls which was a mistake. I found out one doll item was broken so I lost like $1000 ish on that one. I began the hobby during the pandemic and only began handling my dolls this year. It made sense not to open it because then I would have to pack up again in a 6 mo to 1 year span. The longest I've lived at one place recently was about 3 to 4 years due to the pandemic and we hated x1000 that rental house. It was a luxury neighborhood, but such horrible management. I rather live in a poor dangerous neighborhood then deal with poor management again. So to get to your question I'm someone who spends my time in this hobby only handling my dolls when I have to so I can move without having to pack up the dolls again. I have a large collection it is a hassle to move with them. It's easier to keep them stored until we find a permanent or somewhat long term home. So i rarely handle my dolls or open them. These days I open to check for damages and record purposes now, and then store them away from the sun and elements. Most of my time is engaging through online means like browsing doll sites, posting doll photos for record purposes, chatting with doll people for reselling or for trying to form friendships around the hobby, and watching doll related content if in sad I missed out on a particular doll or browsing social media for that doll. All my dolls are new and kept in as pristine a condition as I can, but even then it's hard to resell it without a lost. Due to that reason I spend my time now more carefully deciding on whether I will keep this doll in my collection by researching more on the doll and thinking did I enjoy opening up that doll this year. If I enjoyed opening the doll box up and handling the doll then I learned I keep the doll in mh collection if not then I don't want to keep it. If I had opened my dolls and handled them earlier I would have known to steer clear of Fairyland and learned I like looking at some dolls like Fairyland, but I dont personally like it in my collection when I opened up the doll box I immediately knew I wasn't sure on the doll if I liked it or not. I was fine putting it up for sale.

Spending time online on dolls hasn't helped me completely find a doll i will keep, but it helps narrow it down. Once I actually do handle the doll I get a feel of what I like. It turns out I love Peakswoods liked i thought I would when I browsed for hours online and I love SartoriaJ after Peakswoods. I thought I preferred Idealian over SartoriaJ, but it was the other way around. SJ is more realistic face sculpts with a beefy body and Idealian is more of a stylized handsome face with a lean muscular body. It was only after handling the dolls I learned visually I prefer lean muscular bodies, but when handling the doll I felt the beefy muscular body felt more better. Im not sure how to explain it. With Peakswoods I liked handling the lean female bodies over the thicker SJ Aphrodite bodies, but visually I like the look of Aphrodite bodies on social media compared to Peakswoods lean model-like bodies. I learned Fairyland visually isn't isn't my liking, and I didn't really like handling the doll for some reason. I realized what drew me to Fairyland was the concepts abd quantity of items for the price point.

So I think it's important now to spend at least half the time handling the dolls and the other half online for research and enjoying the hobby through digital means.

Side note:

This is how I now know I prefer Dokkebi Judan and Black Saturn high price tag outfits over SJ and Volks, but i rather spend the money on SJ and Volks outfits for the sheer quanity of choices and accessibility of their outfits compared to the high premium price tag on Dokkebi Judan and Black Saturn. It's incredibly beautiful Dokkebi Judan and Black Saturn and very luxurious which I would never allow myself to dress in such fine fabrics, but i can't justify the premium price on these outfits no matter how beautiful and luxurious they are. I would occasionally buy the outfits, but I learned I don't want to spend that much anymore on these outfits unless it's very special. Handling and physically having the outfits or dolls in my life has helped me determine things more clearly then guessing by looking online.

This year and the coming years will probably be hard financially and mentally to afford dolls due to a lot of crazy things happening right now in my life. Truthfully, though I feel overwhelmed by my large collection, so I think i rather take a step back and enjoy my dolls by handling them more and engaging with my dolls more often. I am also getting overwhelmed by being online with dolls all the time. I want to take a break and focus on other things these days online like catching up with BTS. I feel like I have too much overload of dolls online as well so I've found myself focusing on other things that are at the moment more important and needs to be dealt with. When I need am escape I don't go to my doll room, but i do find myself online looking at dolls.

I do own one 2nd hand Volks doll that I'd actually bought as new because the doll was rehomed to me without being played with. I also bought 1 volks accessory item that I might have been scammed out of money and might not have received the item because I need to open and check. The person page disappeared.

 

Probably the same for me. I usually open my own IG to look at them instead of opening the cabinet where they actually sit I almost never interact with them, unless I need to change their clothes for the shots or when I need to do maintenance for them.
Not sure that I even think about them in general, unless i have an idea

 

These days more equal in thought and handling. Almost a year ago I would say dolls were very ignored due to a new dog, but as she has been trained and adjusted to life here I have been able to play with my dolls whenever I think of them.

 

I definitely fall in the thinking about them camp! Mine have specific looks, so I don't really have different outfits for them to change often, and i don't have a good camera or place to get pictures, so I don't take them out for that either. For the ones I'm customizing and shelling into characters, i like spending time hunting for the right outfit, wig, base doll, etc. It's fun to think of the possibilities, and i can't get frustrated with my skill level the way i often do with the actual parts of customizing XD

 

Ever since I moved out of the country, where I had beautiful backdrops all around my house for photography, and into an apartment in the city, my photography time has probably dropped about 98%. I love looking at my dolls on display, but I almost never handle them anymore. I'm hoping my incoming Soulkid girl will help motivate me for a while.

 

Ah yes, I’m very much the same. I equate playing with them in my imagination and playing with them in the physical to be pretty much the same. I love all forms of creativity…including imaginary creativity (oh the stories I’ve written in my head!) My dolls are my happy place…and the one thing I do exclusively for myself after a lifetime of sacrificing for others (which of course I did willingly and lovingly.) But my collection exists solely to enhance my imagination and brighten my world creatively, so I naturally spend a lot of time just thinking and daydreaming online and offline, developing characters and stories for them, and plotting out what to do next. Creativity simply doesn’t happen without a great deal of thought and planning ahead of time. But I also spend a great deal of time with my dolls working on their faceups, creating wardrobes, building displays, dressing and redressing them, maintenance, and moving them about from display to display. Interacting with my collection is like living inside a fairytale…and it’s a lovely way to live!

 

Aww, I think that’s really cute too! It sounds like you love your dollies a lot!

 

@Ariemea Very much so! I also enjoy sewing for them when I can. They need all the pretty things!

 

Thinking about them for sure.

I have them all in my room, every time I see them I think about them. Not even about what I want to do with them, but just how much I enjoy having them around me where I can see them all the time. I have been working on a photo story, but first I have to make the story. I like to look at them and think about them while I make a draft of the photo shoots I intend to do. But I don't usually pick them up until I set up the backdrop, put the props in place and get everything ready for taking pictures.

Sometimes I will look over at one of my favourites, Ringdoll Lucifer for example, and just I think of how amazing he looks, but I don't run over and pick him up or anything, because just looking at him makes me happy.

 

Definitely more thinking. Even if I didn't have very little physical energy, I'd still be thinking about them more than handling them, just always been that kind of person with everything in general... although, if I did have more energy and didn't have to be choosy with what I spend it on I would probably dress up my dolls more often at least, maybe even without it being for a photo but for just... fun!?!? But yeah, as it is now, I regularly go months without even touching them, but it's rare for me to go more than 2 days without really thinking about them.

 

I do like to have like my pukifee sitting on my knee or to hold one of the little hands of my msd size dolls.

 

Mostly just thinking, though sometimes I go through phases of handling my dolls every day.
I don't often have the time to take my dolls out, so they live very colorful lives in my head most of their time spent out of their boxes is for trying on new patterns/clothes to see if they fit nicely or if I need to fix something, aaaaand then it's back into the box for an indefinite amount of time

 

Mostly just thinking about them, because I actively write about their characters (that's my preferred media for stories).
As for the dolls themselves, I don't get them out of their cabinets as much as I would like, but just being able to look at them while I work in my desk is enough for me. As many others, I usually only get them out to change their clothes every season (usually twice on winter, one for the general season and a new one for Christmas) and take some pictures from time to time, also to reorganize the cabinet at least once a year.

 

I definitely spend more time thinking about them. I don't really handle any of my dolls. As soon as I get them, they go straight into the display cabinet. I'm super clumsy and the more I handle them, the more I risk breaking something :'D