Doll Meets - Public or Private?

How do you feel about going to Doll Meets at someone's private home?
I think it's a very nice idea to go to someones home to have a doll meeting, it's more intimate and more private in that way. Also there will probably be less people then in a larger public meeting. I have actually never been to a home dolly meet, but would like to go. But for me it's really important that I know at few of the people going since I am quite shy. So for me, the first dolly meeting has been a public one in a restaurant. So now it would be easier to go to someones home.

Would you ever consider hosting a doll meet at your house?
I could very well host a doll meet at my home. I would probably inform that I am only inviting about 10 ppl or so. I trust my fellow hobbyist enough to let in my house. I have never worried that someone would steal something or behave badly. I guess that's one good thing about living in a quite small country where people know each other. So chances of a perfect stranger coming to the meet are very small.

 

How do you feel about going to Doll Meets at someone's private home?
I don't really mind going to another person's house for a party/meet. We do it a lot over here for different occasions like birthdays and whatnot. I haven't experienced that yet since our org. picks public places like coffee shops, toy/comic/anime expos/conventions, and holiday resorts. The upcoming meet will be at a small motel/resort with pool. They really like going all out. The members are pretty young (no older than 25 I think.)

Would you ever consider hosting a doll meet at your house?
I never really considered that since I am not really a hospitable person + I don't really like preparing food for many. We do potluck. I would rather host it in a private shop with tables and materials for everyone to dig into. I prefer doing it in an outdoor garden in cool weather. TuT

Either way, it's a nice experience. I meet more prospect business partners there than dolly mates though.

 

How do you feel about going to Doll Meets at someone's private home?
I've only been to one doll meet at someone's house, It was small and crowded i didnt really enjoy the face there wasnt enough space and seating. If its a large house tho, with a backyard and lots of seating yes. Sure id prefer that than a meetup at a mall or something.

Would you ever consider hosting a doll meet at your house?
I would. Mostly because i hate driving around. And its just "oh hey the meetup is here i just need to clean up a bit :P" And if anyone wants to go swimming they can jump in the pool xD Itd be great with it being so damn hot out now. @.@ Everyone would have to be a dish of their own tho for food.

 

I'm not interested in a meet at all. I'm not a social person, I don't like meeting new people, and I don't want to risk anything happening to my dolls. My wife is the exact opposite. She's super outgoing, and has been saying a lot lately that she wants to get out in the community and meet some other doll owners. So maybe some day we'll do it at least once. I'd prefer in public to someone's home. If that person has a dog or is a smoker, I'd be very uncomfortable. But I think we'd agree, we definitely wouldn't host a meet at our house. Aside from the dolls, we have lots of other expensive stuff in our home, particularly electronics, and I wouldn't risk something going missing.

 

I haven't really been to a meet yet but I would rather meet in public. That way I can just show up if I want to, and get to know some people first. The purpose of going to a meet to me would be to see others who share my interests, and maybe make a friend. Then I'd be ok with going to their house, but not just anyone's.

 

I was scared to death participating in my first swap last Christmas....I'm sixteen so private meets at someone's home?

My parents would say this and I quote: "H.E.L.L. N.O. sweetie. Deal." And I'd be just fine with it. No offense to anyone but it's just I'm more worried about my safety and my own self esteem issues. Not that easy to escape if someone started making fun of my Alopecia in someone's home besides locking myself in the bathroom or calling my mom to come get me. Plus I have really bad allergies to a lot of stuff (Dust, mold, pollen, dogs, cats, feathers certain dyes in foods and citric acid) so a lot of reasons why I wouldn't attend one at someone's home. Dandruff get's on everything and if I had to wash my doll to get cat off her then I'd be pretty turned off. Plus my allergies make it so I'm psychically ill, low fever, it's like having the flu for two weeks after coming in contact with the allergen. I'm used to dogs but specific types usually my own dog and my uncles dogs.

Public place like a library or Aquarium or museum?

HELL YES! I love meeting new people one time at the library someone who had a BJD was there and we spent awhile looking at the DZ and Luts sites talking about which sculpts we loved the most. Me and my BFF are actually gonna take our dolls to the anime/manga club (if I can talk her into it the doll part) and it should be interesting....Gonna make some quick lolita costumes and see how it goes...

 

I don't think I'll feel comfortable going to a doll meet at someone's private home, especially if they're people I'm going to meet for the first time. If the house belongs to someone I know, then I'm fine with attending, but a stranger's house, I would prefer the meet to be held at a public location instead.

I'm fine with hosting doll meet at my house, if the people attending are people I know personally.

 

I always do the initial meet and greet in a new area in a public place. After doing a couple of public meets then we decide if someone wants to do one at home and who they are comfortable inviting. When I was in North Florida, it was always the same people responding in the meet-up threads and two of us both volunteered our homes for meets... sometimes even often as once a week. The Florida heat makes it hard to do outdoor meets some times of the year.

So, I have no problem with private meets, after I've met some of the people first.

 

Same here. If I've met and know the person, a private meet wouldn't bother me. A friend of mine is planning on at her house sometime next month and I'm excited for it.

Personally, I would not host one. I have a small house and it would just be a pain. I love to do meets but I'd not have one at my house unless I moved.

 

I've been to a few meets, 2 house meets, 2 public ones. And I liked both, because they have their perks. House meets don't require money to spend, and it's easier for me to bond with people when I'm comfortable.Plus more people tend to come to house meets. Public meets, however, are better for pic-ops and usually easier to get to.

I would love to host a meet at my place one day! But that won't happen til my first doll gets here and I vacuum.

 

I've actually been to both public and private doll meets, and I have to say I like them both. The public meets have more hazards for the dolls though (I'm paranoid about having them out in the sun) At private meets you have a chance to get better acquainted with fellow doll people in a more relaxed setting, whereas public is generally a little less structured, but sometimes everyone'll be a little on edge around the non doll-people, sometimes too much so to really chat and get acquainted.

 

How do you feel about going to Doll Meets at someone's private home?
I'm absolutely fine with them. I'm not very people-shy, and the Dutch BJD community is small enough to know at least one person when you go to a meet-up. Still, I prefer those with people I know, so you can talk about eachothers dolls and progress in the hobby.

Would you ever consider hosting a doll meet at your house?
I think it would be loads of fun to have a meetup at my future house, which will definilty be larger than the dorm room I'm in. I don't really have a problem talking to strangers, at least not when I know we'll have at least one thing in common, which is BJD. At larger conventions I'm also not too shy to talk to new people, which is quite helpful when going to meet-ups. I do like the home-y atmosphere better than being out in the open getting stared at by non-meetup people.

 

How do you feel about going to Doll Meets at someone's private home?
It wouldn't bother me now that I know some of the people in my meet-up group better, but I would have been VERY hesitant to attend one at a private residence if it was my first meet.

Would you ever consider hosting a doll meet at your house?
Unless it was a mini-meet with just a few close friends, probably not. In cases like these I look at my mother-in-law who is an astoundingly hospitable woman and cooks a huge meal every other Sunday where anyone who wants to come is allowed, and unfortunately there have been items stolen from her home despite her generosity and hospitality- with that being the case, I wouldn't feel comfortable allowing people I don't know into my home unless they were with a close and trusted friend.

 

How do you feel about going to Doll Meets at someone's private home?


I think it would largely depend on how well I knew said person for one. Another big concern of mine is on a health-level; I have a very severe allergy to cats and I would have to make sure that the person was not a cat owner. I actually have to ask sellers on ebay if they own cats when I'm purchasing fabric-items, because sometimes something that was just in a house with cats can set off my eyes burning and glassing up....and fabric tends to be pretty bad for catching cat dander...orz...

Would you ever consider hosting a doll meet at your house?


While it's possible, I have to honestly admit that it's not overly likely. I crowd very easily and am somewhat of an introvert. I mean, the obligatory family gatherings during holidays are enough to leave me feeling crowded and uncomfortable. Doll meets usually aren't bad for setting this off, but my experience with them has only been in public places so far. I'm also ridiculously timid and would be afraid of being a poor host, or any numerous other things that could possibly go wrong. Not to mention that I own a very easily excitable dog who likes to bark in greeting and try to jump up on and cuddle/greet people with open arms when he catches on that they are welcome company. It would take awhile to calm him down, and I doubt people would want a big, excitable oversized doggy trying to get all up in their faces while they're carrying their resin babies. D:

 

I have only been to one meet, last year. We met in St Andrews, Scotland and spent the day at the botanical gardens. It was really good fun and nice to see others' dolls. Sadly there does not appear to be many collectors in my area so I have not heard of any other meet ups. Please if there are lurkers out there who would like to meet up why not say so. I have thought of posting a notice to see if anyone was interested, maybe I will do that

 

Private and public for that matter, can be the greatest thing, but it depends on the ammount invited and the venue to where it's held.
first time is nervewrecking, and i think it's a general thing for the more shy people (such as myself) but once the conversation erupts about the main interest it loosens up quite a bit!

If i could throw a meet-up myself? i'd love to! but the space might be sufficient, but we live in the middle of no-where where it can be hard finding your way with no nearby bus routes aswell :/

 

I both go to house meets and host them with my friends several times a year. I think outside meets are better for getting to meet new people and do something new, but house meets are much better for crafting, doll maintenance, sewing, trying on outfits, and selling/swapping doll stuff, etc. Plus we have a lot of potluck at the house meets, and that's always fun, too. It's just too hard to carry all that stuff around to a public meet up.

 

I have been to both public and private meets and enjoyed both types of meets. I had contacted one of the other local doll people prior to the private meet at another member's house, so that way I knew for sure that I had at least one person to talk to. At that meet, the only rooms open to us were the living room and the kitchen. Basically the living room was chatting and playing while the kitchen was selling and customizing.

Public meets are a lot of fun and I found that more people attend them. The public meets I've gone to were mostly at parks so they depend on there being good weather.

How do you feel about going to Doll Meets at someone's private home?
I would try to chat with some of the other local owners before the meet so I wouldn't feel like everyone knew each other except for me. I'm very nervous about attending meets at people's houses since it is thier house and I would feel a little out of place. Even if it was doll friend I would still feel like that because she's one of the only people I would know there.

Would you ever consider hosting a doll meet at your house?
I have considered it but I wouldn't feel comfortable having so many people I don't know in my home. I'm bad enough when I have more than five friends over for a party, I just don't think I would be a good host. I would be fine with a mini-meet of close doll friends but a private meet that was open to everyone would be too much for me to handle.

I think the only private meet I've been to was a good model. If I hosted a meet at my house, I would follow these guidelines:

1. Limit what rooms people have access to. You want to give people room so they're not all crowded together but you probably do not know everyone super well, so don't let them have free range of the entire home.

2. Have at least one other resident of the house there. You can't be in three places at once and you still want to enjoy the meet. Have another person there to make sure that things don't get stolen, damaged or just messy. It can be another resident of the home or a friend. They should be respectful of the doll owners but they shouldn't be there for the dolls.

3. Have some drinks and snacks available but insist that food stays in the kitchen, away from the dolls, and that hands be washed before coming back to where the dolls are. No one wants dirty hands by their precious BJDs.

4. Try to make sure that no one is left standing there with no one to talk to. Doll meets are great fun and a wonderful time to socialise with fellow owners but they can be intimidating, especially if someone is new or only knows a few people. This is probably one of the hardest suggestions, but it really makes a difference in how much people enjoy a meet. I'm usually an outgoing person, but I was quite shy around all the older owners with thier gorgeous dolls. Thankfully the hostess introduced herself and when I mentioned my screenname, she immediatly knew who I was and introduced me to everyone at the meet. It went a long way in making me feel included in the community.