Dolls and Conventions

I just had my Ringdoll Frankenstein at Comic Con and he didn't get molested. If you know anything about Comic Con--with over 150,000 people crowding around, and general insanity happening all the time... having a doll there is a dangerous proposition. I did NOT carry him around with me (although some people DID carry their dolls, and were OK). I had mine briefly displayed at the BJD Panel/meet and on my booth table. Otherwise he was kept safely in his carrier.

I've also had dolls (display only, not carrying around a lot, just briefly) at many other cons:
Gencon
Worldcon
Anime Expo
etc.

Just be smart about it. And if anyone gets too close, tell them to be careful or just back off a bit!

 

I think it's safer to bring a doll to a smaller con than a bigger con. There aren't so many people rushing around, and for some reason people tend to behave better on the whole. I bought my DD to a smaller convention about a year back, held her close and kept a solid eye on her. She fared just fine and no one tried to steal her. In fact, I was able to set her down for pictures (pictures of HER, not me! ) and everyone kept their distance and very politely asked questions/permission to photograph her.

Of course, every con is different and there might be some nasty small cons out there. Still, I don't know if I would have brought her to something like Anime Expo.

Just a small word of advice--even something like a Dollfie Dream or MSD can get heavy when you are carrying it around at a convention. Do bring a bag/basket/something else that you can just plonk your doll into if your arms get tired.

 

I brought Fitz, my D.O.I. to MegaCon and everyone was great!
Nobody had grabby hands and everyone was really polite about him. The only downside to bringing him to the convention was that he is very heavy.
Luckily, a couple of my friends also brought their dolls and we put them in a stroller. Haha, it was seriously the best idea ever.

 

I think as long as you keep them close to you and make sure you know where they are, I don't see any problems with bringing your doll to a con. I wanted to bring mine to a con a few months ago, but I totally forgot to bring them >.<

 

I recently went to Comicon and brought my msd and everything went fine!
I just held her the whole time.(Which isn't ideal when trying to take pictures might I add..)
All i got were mostly stares and a couple "Aww, she's cute"
Personally I thought it was fun!

 

I see that this thread is really old but since others have revived it, I'll throw my two cents in as well!

It seems like there are a lot of people in this thread who seem really laidback and trusting. And actually, that's totally awesome, but I've worked for commercial vendors at a lot of conventions over the years and unfortunately the fact is there are a lot of flaky people who attend these events and stuff absolutely does get stolen. I'm not saying you shouldn't bring your dolls, or that you need to be paranoid, but do make sure to keep a really careful eye out if you put your doll down for whatever reason. Don't leave it unattended, and don't let it distract you from other valuables like your purse, wallet, bought goods, etc that might also get snatched and you'll be fine.

I've only brought my girl to one convention with me, since I haven't really had the opportunity to attend many as a customer since I bought her. It was a super small convention and so it wasn't terribly crowded, and people were really polite and curious about her. Most of the comments I got were from doll people who had nothing but nice things to say. I even had someone take a series of photos of me and her together!

At a larger, more crowded event, I wouldn't hesitate to bring her, but I'd make sure to keep her safely tucked into a padded bag in the dealers' room or other crowded areas. In those situations it's easy for people to bump into you or to get sandwiched between people, so I wouldn't really want to hold on to her for fear of getting her dirty or dropping her.

So yeah, like any other valuable, be mindful of crowds and sketchy folks, and keep your wits about you!

 

I went to AX this year and brought my doll with me, and people were so nice! I got nothing but compliments and pictures with my doll~ When I wasn't holding her, my boyfriend did (whenever my arms got tired as I held out purchases too), so things went pretty well~ Just keep good track of your doll(s) and keep her/him close~ If someone has to hold him, make sure it's someone you trust, and everything should be good~ =]

 

The last convention I went to was a few years ago, I took 1 doll with me because I thought it would be fun to be able to carry him around and not look 'that strange'. I mean, there is weirder things at cons than some girl carrying a large doll.

I actually bought my first BJD thanks to a panel I attended about them. Thats where I got information about the different companies and options. Which made me happy cause I had been wanting a doll since my early teens.

But anyways, after an hour of carrying him I was regretting it. I'm not the strongest person so he really wore my arms out. I even had shaky arms cause I guess he wore out the nerves.
He spent the rest of the con in my hotel room. Even at the doll meet I just hung out with people at looked at their dolls because he was just a hassle for me, lol. Plus the hotel was outside of the con and I didnt really have safe way to transport him through the crazy wind and all the people.

I think it's good to make sure you have someone that can help carry your doll if you need a break, or if you have more than one, bring your lightest doll. I never had a problem with people luckily, but it is a risk you take. I think for future cons I would just take my current girl to the doll meet and drop her off after, or make a cute little carrier for her so I can have her near by, but safe.

It is a fun experience to take your doll to a con, just be careful and keep an eye on them.
It wouldn't hurt to have your doll attached to you with some sort of string in case anyone gets bold and tries to take her. And believe me....it does happen!

 

I would definitely avoid bringing my doll to a convention, simply because the local convention culture isn't very respectful of personal space. A lot of times they will glomp total strangers. D8

Another factor would be photography. Many conventions in my country are held indoors, and that makes for bad lighting for photography without flash. Flash photography accelerates resin yellowing, from what I know. So yeah, not bringing my girls out for photography unless I know the photographer knows what they're doing around dolls.

 

I usually bring at least one doll with me to conventions if I'm working at them--I like fiddling around and making doll jewelry, and behind the table is usually a pretty safe place if I don't want my doll to be on display. I don't think I'd carry my doll all over a convention, though. It's just a disaster waiting to happen at larger cons, like AX. Smaller conventions might not be too bad, though. I'm not totally sure.

 

I've been to most of the local cons around me with at least one of my dolls in tow. In fact, they're my mini cosplay partners-in-crime!!

My first doll, Kiku-yu, has actually been my Gothic Dore Mouse with my Mad Hatter, Hong Kong to my China, and Sebastian to my Mei-rin! I've had A LOT of positive feed back when we've walked around together; one of my best moments was when people who've come up to me and confessed that they think these dolls are "creepy," they gush over Sebastian or simply go "Cool, he looks just like him!" Only now and then do I get the occasional "creepy doll person" snide remark, usually only in passing, and of course I could care less about people who aren't going to say something to my face! Not worth my time.

People that I don't know usually don't ask to hold them, though if they do I just remind them to be gentle, and all is well. If it's a friend, they KNOW not to do anything crazy with them, and even if they leave my sight, I know they're safe!

Bottom line is just have good instincts about your surroundings and the people within it. As long as you have that, you should be fine (and you'll have FUN!!); remember some of these people out there not in the hobby think these dolls want their souls!

 

I think one of the first few bjds I've ever seen was at a con. There was a seller and she had an sd sized doll customized to look like Rei Ayanami. I was so fascinated by her and her size! I think that it's great to bring dolls to cons. It allows you to show off your doll and show people that the doll community isn't so scary.Just watch out though because conventions tend to have stampedes and you wouldn't want to hurt your doll!

 

I have only brought a doll to a con once. I was supposed to be meeting up with a doll group, but it was in an unfamiliar place and I'd never met the people before so I got lost. >_<" I just kind of wandered around the con holding Felly (my Soom Chrom) and looking disoriented. XD (Lucky for me it was a con and I had no trouble finding things to entertain myself!)
I have to say, though, everyone was very polite. I never had anyone run up and try to grab my doll or touch his face or anything. A few times people would stop me to look; they'd ask me questions about him (what is he, where did I get him, did I make his costume, was he supposed to look like Kouga from Inuyasha XD) and compliment. It was really nice. I'd have no problem doing it again.
The only thing that wasn't so great was that carrying him in one arm all day, my arm was soooo sore the next morning!

 

I've brought my boys to SakuraCon, but I really trust the environment there, so I don't know about other cons. (At SakuraCon I have lost my wallet twice, different years, and had it dropped at lost and found with all my cash and cards in it... Aaaand when I popped into the bathroom at one point I left Jezabel on the counter with my bag, and nobody touched them. So... yeah. xD )

Generally, my dolls are ALWAYS in my arms. I've never had people be grabby, and usually when they ask about them, I share them, let them hold them, see how they stand on their own... I've never had trouble.
I think I have upset other doll owners at cons, though. This year I sorta parted the bangs on someones girl to see her face-up better, and I think they thought I smeared my fingers all over her face. I felt really bad for a few hours after that.

I'm bringing some of my boys to my Artist Alley table at an upcoming con, though, and in that situation I'll be tethering them to the table. I trust con people, but Artist Alley is a different situation. Not going to risk it, especially if I have more than one doll with me at once.

Just don't get the bright idea to carry a 70cm doll around a con all day, outside of their carrier. After a total of ten minutes I was jealous of all the doll owners that had minis and 60cm dolls with them. They looked so small, and my arm was aching...Too heavy, not worth it!

 

I've brought my dolls with me to Animazement for the past two years. Nothing bad has happened to them. But I do watch my dolls like a hawk, haha. I'm somewhat paranoid about something happening to them so I'm always conscious of my surroundings and where all my dolls are at all times.

I love bringing them to the BJD Panel at Animazement. There's always people there who want to learn more about the hobby and who are looking to get their first doll. I like letting those people hold my dolls. They are always super-extra careful with them (more careful than I am with my own dolls).

 

I had a lovely day at UppCon (Sweden) with my Deena this summer. It was my first con and the main reason to go was actually dolls. I wanted to see other dolls, buy things for them and most of all, see people admire Deena!

It was before I had anyone else than my two SD's, and also the first time I even saw any smaller dolls. There were Obitsus for sale and some eyes, wigs etc. I bought a sword (from some anime), a gun (necklace), a second-hand wig (perfect for my little Ed, actually I'd thought it would fit MSD) and a nice little chest. And an iPhone skin (is it called that? I don't even have an iPhone) with a picture of DoD Si. I have it on the wall in the twins' "room".

And I had taken some Cernit sushi with me, and gave a little pack of it to almost every doll I met.

 

I have bring my doll twice in a convention. ^^ And I never had any problem. But I look At them, and when someone want to took my doll in they hands, I said yes just when I see the person are an BJD owner. This year I made a carrier bag, I was more safe like this and really easy to have it all the day. ^^

And I love when other people bring their doll, seeing other BJD owner it's sweet.

 

I guess you really just have to have a general idea of the attendees at conventions to decide whether you want to take your doll(s) with you. I've been to a few small local cons where there are the usual sugar-hyper kids who jump and horseplay all over the place, but, I say, if you're careful and keep a sharp eye out, you can avoid any mishaps.

I went to San Japan a couple of weeks ago and took my 70-cm boy over with me. I was working as a vendor, though, so it was cool to have him stand or sit on a chair or table. When he wasn't doing that, though, he was usually sitting on my shoulder; I find it most comfortable to carry him that way.

--Also, as several others have mentioned already, just in case you're cosplaying and don't have a group (or do have a group but want to have another specific character), your little buddy/buddies could join up. ^___^ My boy was... well, half-cosplaying. xD

 

Actually reading this thread about tinies there's sometimes around Halloween little wooden coffins sold at Michael's that could be used perfectly to put a PukiPuki/other type of tiny in for safe keeping. Just line it with felt insert tiny close the clasp...And promptly drop it into purse/handbag. I have one I usually use for my video games but I figure I'll paint it black with acrylic paint or stain it and if I take my little one to a con I'll dress her like a character from Vampire Knight to make it ironic. (Like Little Kid!Yuki or Zero/Ichiru.) Dolly cosplay does help though. If I take my future MSD to a con I'll probably dress her like Katniss Everdeen since they're both hunters and I can leave Sanya as I would prefer to have her (long brown wig braided, black jacket and pants with a dark green shirt and boots) let her have her tiny bow and arrow just clip the mockingjay pin on and call her Katniss and dress in my cosplay.

EDIT: Also if your squeemish about bringing a resin remember...You can always fix it/pay someone to fix it if something happens. A little MSC gets rubbed off? No big deal....I'd say it's a little riskier for bringing Vinyl dolls to a con because they are a pain in the arse to clean when they get dirty.

 

I've only taken my MSD to one convention so far but I do agree with what most people are saying. I did notice though tat people either pay attention to him or they don't, that can be good in a sense and bad in another because those people not paying attention tend to bump into you... But tis was a larger con and that only really happened in the more crowded areas. I will let people hold my doll but so far the only people who have asked are other BJD owners not sure if I'd be comfortable with others. Even if it is another BJD owner is holding your doll don't take your eyes off of it or set it down anywhere unsupervised!