Dolls and Conventions

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without?

yes i cosplay, yes many do, from the begining of owning them. i have been power glomped by several people. XD once enough to knock me over, the other while i was carrying my samehada (8ft foam and spike sword) i heard the cracking but it didn't break. never with a doll in my hands though.

2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls?
sure i do, that's why i take mine, however after i hit the 16 doll number i stopped bringing everyone. i only bring a handful. and i only bring ones who match my cosplays for that weekend.

3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?
i don't. i don't mind poeple picking up my dolls. and i deal more with poeple who are to afraid to ask to touch the dolls and go dump one of mine in the hands. even small kids. but most poeple don't just walk up and grab at poeples dolls at the cons i go to. and if i'm a meet or a panel, my dolls are the first ones i volenteer to be passed around.

4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?
make sure you trust the poeple around you if you walk away from your dolls or leaving them sitting out in a area not close to you. other wise always have your doll close and in the line of site. also a weird one most poeple don't always think about, but know who you room with. and only share a hotel room with those you trust with your belongings.

i know lot's a poeple at the cons i attend and most of my dolls really stand out. so if someone walks off with my doll and acts like it's theirs it's easy to prove other wise. plus it can be spotted from across the room. XD and i've sorta had that happen at a con before too. i left my doll at my freinds aa table, with her dolls. a few hours later i saw someone i didn't know that had been in my freinds cosplay troupe with my doll. she hadn't stolen it she just took it around with her thinking it was my freinds doll. which she is allowed to take and go as she pleases. XD. this was a very small con too though.


5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?
no actually i haven't. we've had people leave their belongs behind at meets but we always figure out whose stuff it is and it goes with someone who can mail it back. no one lost a doll or had one stolen though.

6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?
i see no issue with bring a doll to a con as long as you are careful, understand that yes something could happen and if it does you have to be able to deal with it. and you will be asked about it constantly. and it won't interfer with your fun at the con. and remember your brought it so you have to carry it!! XD or leave it in your room.

 

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without?
I don't cosplay...I want to, but I just haven't had the time.
2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls?
Honestly, they're not exactly "safe", but if you're careful then it should all be good.
3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?
Well, I took my two boys to a convention this past weekend, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to carry both boys in my arms at once. It'd be too hard to handle and one of them for sure would've fallen. But I kept one of them in my bag and the other in my arms, close to myself, kind of guarding him as we walked. Plus, I went with my sister and a couple friends who know the dolls and how much they mean to me, so my boys were pretty well looked after.
4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?
I put one boy in my bag and carried the other. The doll in the bag was surrounded by bubblewrap and such to prevent damage from jostling, and the boy in my arms I kept real close to me so I wouldn't drop him or have him tugged from my grip. Plus, I never set my bag or boys down anywhere where I couldn't have two eyes on them at all times. If I absolutely had to set one of them down, I gave him to my sister to hold for a second.
5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?
No, I haven't. This was the first convention I went to with my dolls, so I guess I haven't had much opportunity for bad crap to happen. I have, however, heard of horrible things happening at cons to dolls. There was a frying pan incident, as I recall, as well as one where someone's Zaoll was snatched up. Scary stuff.
6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?
I wouldn't necessarily consider it a good idea, but it also doesn't have to be a bad one, as long as you take steps to make sure you can protect your doll. Go slow, watch for people running around and with big bags, don't take your eye off them, and don't let strangers hold them. It can be a positive experience, too. I got lots of sincere questions about my boys. You just have to be careful, but remember that the dolls are meant to be enjoyed and shown, as well.

 

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without? No I am not a cosplayer and my dolls do not cosplay either.

2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls? There is risk to taking a doll out anywhere. That risk does go up with the nature of a convention. It is crowded and can be a bit chaotic. The chance of your doll being bumped is definitely higher there than out at a store or restaurant. With so much going on there is the chance that you would set your doll down and forget it (I know probably not going to happen, but it could I suppose) or it could be stolen. This could happen anywhere but people at cons are more likely to know that a doll has value than the average person on the street. The benefit being there are more doll owners at a convention and in my experience doll lovers look out for one another.

3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?
This is not a problem I have ever experienced. Hubby swears I walk around with a perpetual "drop dead" look. People do not typically approach me because I always look less than friendly. When some one does approach me they are almost always another doll person and usually know better than touching. I get off handed comments but no one has ever tried to take a doll out of my hands or even touch it while I was holding it. Probably a good thing because I don't like people to get too close to me and I hold my dolls tight against my body.

4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?
I never let my dolls out of my sight. I am always holding them with the exception of handing one off to hubby while I go to the restroom. If I set them down it is in a controlled setting at a meet up at the con.

5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?
No I have not ever witnessed anything worse happening to a doll at a con than a minor bump or fall. I know dolls have been stolen or damaged at conventions but I have never seen it. Nothing has ever happened to one of my dolls worse than dropping a wig for a moment.

6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?
That is probably a matter of personal opinion. Carrying dolls at conventions is very common and there are frequently meet ups that occur at conventions, but if you aren't comfortable then don't do it. For me taking dolls to a convention is a necessity. I have SPD and social anxiety. It is incredibly hard for me to be at a convention at all. With all of the light and the noise and the constant press of people I wind up easily over whelmed. Holding a doll soothes me and helps me remain in control. I don't become over stimulated as easily and when I do I can often get past it by squeezing or petting my doll. I usually carry a large sturdy doll with me. I find the weight more soothing and I worry less about damage. I take one of the guys whose face ups I did myself just in case a jostle should mess their face up, and no one with delicate ears or fantasy parts. My favorite con companion is probably my DZ Yuu, even though he is my heaviest doll. He is sturdy so I worry about him less and I actually find him easier to carry around than an MSD or tiny, but that may just be me. I have experience carrying children around all day, even a 70cm doll doesn't compare in weight to a baby, and he never tries to squirm out of my arms.

 

I brought my doll to Anime expo this year and carried him around all day. I'm not going to do this again because he is heavy unless you were carrying a msd which I was not unfortunately. Needless to say, my arms were sore a few days later. But I've never had a problem with touchy touchy people and it's relatively safe as long as you never leave them alone. I let my friend hold my doll one time and she almost lost his wig.

 

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without?

---I'm not a cosplayer myself (except for Halloween), but the doll it's it's own show by itself, he, or her, in my humble opinion, must be the center of the attraction and not to be treaty as an accessory, because if you treat the doll as an accessory of your cosplay, other people might think they can do it as well and there you might have once again the ‘grabby hands’ issue...

2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls?

---Not at all, unless it's a very cheap doll like a small RS doll which I don't care much, there is too many people ho is ignorant in terms of "how to handle a BJD" and does not understand the precautions on this hobby, too many chances of getting the doll broken, stolen, or ruin their face-up, clothing, etc.

3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?

---On a display case, it wold be awfully hard to take it if the doll it's large and it's made of glass, but if the doll it's small (assuming the convention has stands) you might want to get the help from someone on a stand, and ask them to let you use a little space to display safely your doll behind the glass (using a Fish-tank inverted it's a good idea), they will benefit of the people ho stands to look at your doll and the entire stand, bringing more public, and your doll will be safe.

4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?

---You can do it as I've said before, but if you want your doll to be whit you all the time you must keep her very close to you, even if some people find this "behavior" or "attitude" "not-so-cool"...it's YOUR doll, and only you know how hard has it being to save the money to buy her...so you have that right whatever they decide to understand that or not.

5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?

---Not mine since I'm always very cautious whit my dolls and I take grate effort to buy them, but I've heard of someone ho toke a doll to an anime convention and she got distracted, by the time she went to check her doll a group of Lolita cosplayers where taking pictures whit her doll, whit it's underwear down, and hitting her all around like a cheap action figure...so that's everybody's nightmare I guest.

6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?

---It might be an interesting experience but it's also a very dangerous one, for me it's definitively NOT a good idea...

 

Usually I cosplay, but I would NEVER hold my doll while in cosplay unless it was a small scale convention because I have been tackled /knocked over/etc at the larger ones. I would however, take my doll out with me to a con while I was not in cosplay. I do artist alley now, so it's not as much of a problem, but I would watch them like a hawk and be aware of my surroundings because there are people with grabby hands and people who insist on buying dolls off of you...

 

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without? I am a cosplayer. i had one cosplay with me once. i have never been tackled without knowing it.
2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls? depends on how big the convention is. the more people that are there the bigger the risk.
3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’? any defensive moves i can think of using to keep people from grabbing one of mine, i'll use them.
4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event? i keep them close to my body and never let my eyes off of them
5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll? no
6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea? not really. it's one more thing you have to carry. another thing that you could possibly lose or get hurt.

 

I remember yooouuu... I met you at the Saturday night meetup!

*ahem* Anyway...

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without?
I do cosplay, but at last year's Sakuracon, I didn't. My dolls did, however. ^_^; Yoru was Lelouch from Code Geass and Sage was Ayame from Fruits Basket. They will probably cosplay to compliment my costumes in the future. (Thyme is already getting a Miki costume to go with my sister's Amulet Spade next year. XD)
The only times I've ever been glomped at con were while wearing my Kumagoro costume. ^_^; Which, quite frankly, kind of begs to be jumped on.0

2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls?
This was my first year will dolls, so I had concerns when I first decided to bring them, but after doing it I think it's pretty safe. You just have to have a good handle on your dolls and know where they are at all times, same as any social situation. I brought a case to roll them around in when I needed free hands.

3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?
I kept them in their cases during crowded events, but I've never really had a problem with people just grabbing things out of my hands (scary!) I did have one gushing fangirl come up and go nuts over Yoru's Lelouch cosplay. ^_^; But she was very respectful and asked if she could hold him for a picture.

4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?
I always have one or more friends with me at con, so backup support helps. I think if someone is REALLY pushy though, Con staff is usually somewhere nearby and willing to help. There are rules against touching people without permission at most cons.

5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?
Nope, thankfully. ^_^;

6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?
It's a lot of fun, especially when there are gatherings of other dolly people!

 

I whent to one last year with my doll, now I am going again this year with both and my one head. I say its fine if you dont mind carrying the little angel were ever you go and keep a good eye on who holds it if you let them. Plus if some does take it (wich I never here happens but you never know) you can get the hotal/con staff to go after the person.

Hope I helped...

 

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without?
I am a cosplayer. I haven't had the time lately to make cosplays for my dolls, but I plan to. I haven't had too many people with "grabby hands" at my girls, but some of my co-workers are worse.
2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls?
It just depends on how many TYPES of cosplayers there are. I really don't like the overly-hyper ones that are willing to do anything for attention. Like the palest white chick that thinks she's asian and puts -chan or -sama behind her name when talking about herself. Anime Conventions are pretty safe for me to take my girls. I can easily have my two MSD girls sitting in my camera bag while the strap is on my shoulder. People don't tend to notice my girls since I usually go to BIGGER conventions where there are thousands of people.
3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?
I usually keep my girls in their sitting positions. If someone comes near me with that look in their eyes, I tend to raise them in the air and snap at them. "I'm older than you, I may be shorter than you, I've taken kick-boxing and self defense for 12 years and if you try anything with my doll, I WILL take self-defense measures!" If I have a prop, I usually wave that in their face. Nothing beats waving a 6.5 foot tall rocket launcher prop in someone's face to ward off Grabby Hands!
4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?
I keep my girls in my site at ALL times. If i have to leave them alone, I leave them with a well-trusted friend. My girls tend to be less than 6 feet away from me at all times at Anime Conventions
5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?
The only accident I had at a con was that my doll's legs knocked over an artist's handmade picture frame and i had to buy it... T_T darn my luck...That money came out of her clothes fund...
6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?
I think it's a fun idea! I love it! Usually, there are Artist Alley sections where local artists sell their work. I find amazing hand made clothes that are usually one of a kind at Anime Conventions!

 

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without?
I wouldn't call myself a cosplayer, but I have done some cosplay. My doll stays at home and I have never made a costume for it.

I also have never had a person tackle me before; if someone chose to do that, I would report them to the convention staff for assaulting me.
2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls?
No. I would never bring my doll to a convention, nor any other crowded place. A doll could easily get stolen or damaged; it's just not worth the risk. My doll gets put on display at home, and that's all I need it to do.
3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?
Doesn't apply to me, but I've heard many stories of dolls being stolen during conventions.
4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?
I just don't bring it.
5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?
No.
6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?
Sure, if you like putting your doll at risk of being stolen from your or from being damaged beyond repair. If you're okay with this happening, go for it; if this would greatly upset you, just be smart and leave your doll at home. It's common sense, really.

 

I can't go to an anime con without my dolls. And I'm allways carrying one of them with me. For me Carrying one of my dolls with me all day at an anime con Is the one part of the Con I look foward to the most.

 

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without?
I cosplay on occasion, but my boys don't. I'd eventually like to make little cosplays for them, but I currently just don't have the time. As for the tackle question... yes, I can honestly say, this has happened to me. Twice. Thankfully, I wasn't holding a doll either time.

2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls?
Depends on the convention. I don't think I would take my dolls to a huge con like AX, but the smaller ones, it's not really an issue. Just be smart about it, and don't let them out of your sight.

3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?
I will admit, I was worried about this when I took Leuca to a con a few weeks ago. Thankfully, nobody tried to grab him, but that was likely due to the fact that I was pretty much wearing a permanent "you touch, you DIE" expression, the entire time. lol.

4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?
Don't EVER put your doll down somewhere and expect for it to be there when you get back (common sense). Don't let strangers hold them. Don't walk around alone.

5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?
Thankfully, no.

6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?
I do, actually. It's fun to have them with you in public, though it can get a little tiring carrying them around all day. Just be safe, and be aware of your surroundings.

 

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without?
Yep. Sometimes I have a matching cosplay or something related, but most of the time it unrelated and just looking nice. No one has tackled me, but I don't super popular characters and I tend not to attract a whole lot of attention to myself in general so this has never been a problem. One example is just back in May I did a matching dress to Dollhearts Black Classic so me and Shayla were all matchy match ^^

2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls?
It can be safe if you make it so meaning if you're worried about bumps and such bring the doll in a doll carrier with proper protection.

3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?
I offer to show and remind people "seeing" means looking and not touching. Only if I offer do I want my doll to be handled.

4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?
Doll stands or seats to make sure no doll can tip over and I simply don't leave my dolls alone with people I don't know. It's common sense.

5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?
Lots of falls, but nothing major. My local meets far more has happened. One book signing I had taken my dolls to I had two broken fingers happen.

6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?
I think it is because it is something else to do during the con if I don't want to cosplay, or play games, or panels, or hang in the room. It forces me to be a bit more social.

 

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without?
yes, and this is the first year Lili is going to cosplay with me.. I've never been tackled..People at Dutch conventions are quite relaxed
2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls?
Here in Holland, yes. People here respect eachother and their dolls if they have them.
3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?
Our biggest convention has certain rules about grabby hands. So there's not a lot of grabby people.
4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?
I either have them with me at all times, or I'd leave them at a dolly-sitter. One of our biggest dealers have a dolly sitting service at every convention they go to. Or this year, the hotel I'm staying is above the convention, I could leave them there.
5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?
No, never.
6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?
I think it is certainly a good idea. My dolls rarely come out of the house, and a convention is a good opportunity to show them to the world without having to encounter people that don't know about them.

 

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without?
Too shy for cosplay, have seen a few crazy tackling fans though.

2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls?
Depends on the precautions you take, and on the convention.

3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?
My best idea would be to keep them in a case/bag/carrier when just walking around, or hold them close enough to you that it would be super inappropriate to grab at them. Or you and your friends could form a protective circle around the doll(s), like elephants protecting their young. B)

4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?
Keep it on your person. And if you need to do some activity where your doll(s) would get in your way, you could always put them in your car/room for safekeeping.

5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?
No, thank goodness.

6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?
If there was a dollmeet, or you wanted to do a photoshoot with your doll around there, I'd go for it. But all the cons I've been to are crowded and hectic, and it seems like it would be riskier than it's worth to carry a fragile, expensive, heavy doll around just for the sake of carrying it around.

Also, just because cons tend to be full of weirdos, but that doesn't mean no one will bat an eye at someone toting a big ol' beautiful doll around. So if you have social anxiety issues like me, it definitely wouldn't be a good idea. oTL

 

At Otakon this year I saw this lady who was carrying her BJD's around in a red wagon. My boyfriend and I were discussing how she must of had 10,000+ invested into these dolls all together and someone could come up and snatch one or, in a crowded area which there often is it would be very hard for a doll not to fall out or get damaged or stolen as I had mentioned before. I think if you are able to tastefully and safely bring a few dolls it would be great. But there should be a limit you can hold yourself to Dx. I also see people who will put their dolls in full sized baby strollers and wheel them around the con. As a first year doll owner this always irritated me to no end because of the way the people would move around, take up extra space and bring something a nuisance into a convention when really, you don't have a live child in that thing. Although, I do have to admit a baby stroller IS safer then a wagon.

 

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without?
I am a former cosplayer, looking at returning to it. I've never had been glomped without permission. I didn't have dolls at the time.

2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls?
Absolutely. Especially if there's some BJD panels to bring them to. I wouldn't take them to everything, particularly not the dance, but there are many places they can comfortably go.

3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?
I don't think you'll find as much of that as you expect. After all, you're surrounded by fellow fans of interesting topics, and many of them have treasures they've made or just bought. People are generally respectful from my experience.

4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?
Have a way to carry it other than in your hands, so you won't have to put it down to use them. Keep your hotel room door closed and locked. If you're really going to worry, just don't bring it.

5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?
n/a

6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?
I think it's a great idea to bring one or two dolls to a convention that you know will have one or two doll-related panels, or even other people who also have dolls that you know. I wouldn't drag them through the entire event, but take them to a few events they will enjoy and be appropriate guests for.

 

I go to otakon with hyper, but respectful friends.
My dolls are so safe, IF I with them, lawl.

I try to cosplay, but it's too much of a hassle for me. BTW just saw you on Gaia.

 

1. Are you a cosplayer? If so, does your doll cosplay with you? Have you ever had an overly hyper fan tackle you from behind with a doll, or without?
I'm a retired cosplayer, as it were. I used to cosplay but I quit due to lack of time, interest, and resources. But when I did cosplay, I never had a doll cosplay with me. Though, I have had fans tackle and glomp me many times.

2. Do you think Convention environments are a safe place to take your dolls?
Not really; I tend to attend huge cons that draw people from all over. I feel more on guard at these cons. I think the smaller scale cons (held in hotels, gather more local attendees) are safer for dolls, simply because there won't be massive crowds.

3. If you take your dolls, how do you prevent people from ‘grabby hands syndrome’?
Carry the dolls in a case; take it out only when I'm sitting or posing for something.

4. What safety precautions do you take to assure your doll isn’t harmed/stolen during such an event?
Treat the doll the same as I treat all of my important personal items (wallet, bag, etc.) to ensure it isn't stolen.

5. Have you ever witnessed/have had an accident occur at a con with your doll?
Nope.

6. Do you think bringing dolls to conventions is a good idea?
Not really. Unless there going to be some doll-related event, I don't think it's a great idea. Even then, I'd only bring it at the time/day of the event.