For those on hiatus, who wish they weren't

I am not in hiatus right now, but I was for a while a long time ago. The way I saw it, I just didn't have any drive to work on my "giant" dolls. I always preferred smaller, less heavy dolls, so getting into BJD at the beginning was a bit scary for me, not only due to cost but also size preference. The dolls that I liked back then, didn't come in "tiny" sizes.

I knew however, that I wasn't selling my dolls, I was just putting that drive I had for BJD, into other types of dolls and figures. Just switching for a while, to a different but similar type of "canvas." Knowing that my dolls would be there waiting for me, to comeback to them when I wanted to interact with them again.

Then, after three years give or take. I decided to check back on here, an was devastated that DollZone had discontinued their Mo-Wen (I own one, I just thought I would always have the option to get an unmodified head one day). It was then and there that I decided not to completely stay away from all aspects of any of my many correlating hobbies and just not actively hoard, if I don't feel like it.

I've always loved dolls, and toys of all kinds. Since I was a little girl, dolls were one of my weaknesses. Creating art has also always given me great pleasure, discovering BJD allowed me to meld those two together, for the first time. I would never completely leave a doll related hobby forever and that's what has always motivated me not to sell my dolls. I know I'll return eventually and regret having sold them. I just rather put them away for a bit, and then come back to them when I am ready.

 

If you are for any reason motivated to keep up your interest in bjds, what have you done to help facilitate this during the worse times?
I stopped being active in the hobby during a time of intense stress and distress in my life. Being active had meant for me mainly being creative, painting, modding, crafting for my dolls, inresinating my characters and so on. Losing the ability to do that gave me an intense feeling of loss, because it was something that always had had a positive effect on me and my life, and I was in desperate need of something positive.

I didn't dare to look at my dolls for a year or so just because of that frustration. Then one day I opened my doll cupboard - and discovered I still loved them. I realised I had missed them. I still did not have the kind of productive/ creative energy to actually do something with them because for me that involves a kind of positivity of the mind I did not possess. But I was still able to write, so I started to write stories centered around my doll characters. That way I kept in touch with them, like I was in an ongoing conversation with those characters and they didn't become just a memory.

Does anything continue to help you feel encouraged about your personal hobby for now or for the future? How has your relationship with your dolls changed in the process of this unwanted hiatus?
Gradually, my interest reawakened. I came here more often to look at new developments, and now and then I saw something that gave me that old spark. I started to think about what I could do to facilitate my return to the active side, step by step. I completely tidied up my craft area, reacquainting myself with my tools. Just handling everything again was an empowering experience. I also made decisions about what projects to abort for good and what dolls to sell, to lighten my workload that was left over from before the hiatus and that had scared me into inactivity even more. And so on.

What motivates you to continue fighting for your previous interest in the hobby?
And that's where I am now. I really want to get going again, but lack of energy/ drive is still often a problem. And a new problem is that I've been inactive for so long that I fear I have to start from scratch in some areas because I've lost my muscle memory and manual skills, and I fear new frustration arising from that. But I am not willing to give up, and that might be plain stubbornness. Sometimes that's a good thing. Because this hobby has been a positive and healing element in my life for so long and I want that back

Sorry for the way too long text. And thank you for introducing this topic and for asking these questions. I also hope that we can find a way to encourage and support each other

 

So I almost fell out of the hobby about a year and a half ago. I just wasn’t getting the same happiness out of playing with my collection, I felt really stuck in my photography (which is the main way I interact with and enjoy my dolls), and just left the whole main doll shelf under a sheet for a while. It felt like I had to keep sinking money into more outfits and wigs trying to make things work, I repainted one of my dolls like five times and just was generally not enjoying things the way I used to, and I’ve been in the hobby forever so that was really frustrating for me.

I found out what the problem was by accident. I started focusing on other hobbies instead, and one of the things I was doing was playing video games, where I replayed the entirety of the Resident Evil games and that led to picking up some 1/6 scale super posable action figures. They’re playable right out of the box and incredibly photogenic, plus I wasn’t lugging around ten pounds of dolls just to take a shot on a hike of a couple of them.

My BJDs were too big for me, basically. And I was putting too much emphasis on DIYing everything so most of my dolls were huge projects that couldn’t be enjoyed when they arrived. 20-something year old me was down to lug a 70+ cm doll and all his crap around on a long hike no problem. 40-something year old me just didn’t want to work that hard anymore.

So now I have a tribe of Minifee built up over the last year that are so much easier to set up at home or backyard shots for, but still substantial enough to remind me why I liked BJDs in the first place. (And I came into the hobby on CP dolls, so they’re smaller but still nostalgic.) Half of them are full sets and I don’t care that ten other people might have the exact same doll because I can play with them immediately. I paint the ones I feel like painting and mostly see them as photography models. I’m a lot happier.

Idk if that helps, but I’ve been there and it’s annoying to want to enjoy something and feel emotionally divorced from it.

 

How is the journey going for you through your own circumstances with that?
I've taken a couple hiatus in this hobby since I became a part of this wonderful community in 2013:

• The first one lasted all of 2018 and was a complete shut-down, as I wasn't enjoying the dolls I had and didn't know what to do but also didn't want to sell them so I left them in my parents home as my now husband and I rented a place in another city. Months later, I visited my parents and decided to bring one of my dolls with me, and I found myself slowly back, logging into this forum and catching up with the new releases.
• The second one was soon after, for most of 2020. I had spent 2019 trying to rekindle my relationship with my dolls and come up with why I wasn't enjoying them as much as before, but I still had no clue. Then, I received an alert I had set up for a limited anthro doll that I had been on my list for a long time. I convinced myself to purchase it and that also indirectly led me to finally understand that it was the characters' fault and not my dolls', so I changed them and found out I loved them again. Plus, I started wig making and sewing a bit, and that made me happy as I wasn't really all that crafty before.

Is there any way an inactive/passive hobby with BJD still has a positive impact on your life?
As of now and since 2021, I'm studying to become a full-time teacher and I find myself in an in-between state. I take care and cherish my dolls and I'm even introducing a new doll in my resin crew this year, but I don't have the time or the willpower to be super active online, so I take only a handful of pictures of them each year and simply try to stay informed of new releases even though I'm convinced no more dolls will come home anytime soon.
I do not understand this as a new hiatus, but as a passive way of living the hobby that may not be for everyone, but it truly is the way for me. To be honest, it always has been, but I didn't want to accept it because I thought it made me not deserve my dolls or some other dumb thing my younger self told herself.
I would love to have a dolly-friend in the same page to talk with and maybe encourage each other to pursue smaller doll-related goals, but I haven't been able to find other owners who feel the same way, though, so it may be just a me-thing xD

 

I'm currently on a bit of a hiatus that is stretching longer than anticipated. We moved last year to be closer to family and moved into my parents' place on a temporary basis. However, with current events here in the States, my spouse's employment opportunities dried up basically overnight and we're now stuck here unless/until we get into a better job situation. As such, my dolls are all in storage and my opportunities to interact with them are severely limited.

This is the hobby I always come back to. Since the day I discovered BJDs, approximately 15 years ago now, I have always returned eventually. That said, I don't pressure myself to stay involved if the drive isn't there. My natural cycle of creativity means my interests will wander for a bit, often when finances and time are tight, but I will come back if I give myself space to breathe. When I'm not doing doll stuff, I'm writing or reading or crocheting, just engaging with other hobbies that feed my creativity in different ways. With BJDs, there's this pressure (probably from the price point, tbh) to be deeply engaged at all times with it, but that's not sustainable forever, nor should it be. The human brain is a fickle beast that likes novelty -- too much of any one hobby and you'll naturally catch yourself burning out eventually.

I think passive involvement in the hobby is very beneficial for my life. Sure, I'm not doing the playing/creating/taking pictures phase right now, but I can still maintain the social connections I've made because of the hobby, enjoy everyone else's artistic creations, and provide inspiration that can flow into my other, more accessible hobbies. I also like using this down time to hunt for rare dolls or good deals on long-term wishlist items, since I don't exactly have other uses for my designated doll money at the moment. It's actually been during my hiatuses where I've found my grail/dream dolls at not-highway-robbery prices!

I also feel more deeply connected to the characters of my dolls during my hiatuses. I think this is because I can ruminate on their essence, their motivations, their beliefs and opinions, for far longer when I'm not also trying to apply it to their physical form. Essentially, the doll reveals its character to me, but the in-depth study part is often a solo journey for my mind that I bring back to the doll when my hiatus ends. It's a small thing, but it keeps me from totally disconnecting from my collection because of my hiatus.

 

I’m an artist of all mediums and have multiple hobbies and interests that I put a lot of time and money into. What you described as a hiatus sounds exactly like my shifting focuses between interests, which happens every year or so.

I always figured it was part of my ADHD and just accepted it and went with the flow. One year I was doing lots of painting and digital design; another, I learned to draft and sew my own clothes, and the next I built and decorated a few detailed dioramas from scratch. At some point in there, I did a lot of experimenting with plastics and some paper-making.

Now I’ve cycled back to sewing practice so dolls fit in with my current work vibe.

Eventually I’ll gravitate towards something different, put the dolls away (maybe feel a little guilty or sad because I worry about wasting money), and try something else, like soldering or woodworking.

The thing with the guilt, though, is that, yes, I got way too much fabric because I’d had tons of plans and didn’t know that my year of sewing had run its course.

It’s not a waste of, though! I’m using that fabric for doll clothes, now and let my other ‘hiatus’ hobbies guest star when I need to make props or design fabrics and patterns. Or, for instance, make little clothes with hidden fiber optics cables because I did all the electrical work on my dioramas and learned a lot about that!

I know not everyone can relate and other people experience this differently than me, but I don’t see my creative pattern as a bad thing; it sure keeps me (and everyone else) on my toes. It’s okay to take a break if you aren’t enjoying something! Dolls will always be waiting and they are patient.

Once time passes and you explore different interests, you might rediscover dolls all over again and get to rush back into the hobby with fresh ideas!

I hope this is helpful in some way; again, it’s just my personal experience and I know not everyone feels the same.

 

This may sound really stupid, but seeing other people sew amazingly detailed clothes for their dolls made me more aware of the flaws of my clothes. This put me off from using dolly social media, becauses i'd feel like my work was inferior to others. I stopped going on instagram and facebook once I realized this.
Once I stopped using these platforms, my passion for the hobby died down. I stopped sewing clothes for my dolls or dressing them up. They kind of just sat on my shelf for a while.
I've since reentered the hobby, but I'm trying to take it slow so I don't burn myself out.
Is there any way an inactive/passive hobby with bjd still has a positive impact on your life? My dolls sit in plain sight, so occasionally glancing at them will give me joy.
How has your relationship with your dolls changed in the process of this unwanted hiatus? I'm in the process of selling a few floatings head. I realized that i really didn't care for them, and that having them only made me more stressed out over the "wasted money". Overall this hiatus has made me aware of which dolls I cared for and which ones I did not.

 

I'm not really sure if I wish I wasn't on a hiatus from dolls. For me, my interest in dolls has always been tied to my interests in video games, writing, drawing, and doing needlecrafts. I'm currently working on interests that have nothing to do with dolls, while adding doll related project ideas to my list of maybe once my backlog's done I'll turn to these. And when it comes time to work on doll stuff again, the skills from learning new needlework techniques will help with that.

 

I’ve just recently returned from a long hiatus. I kept all my dolls, as hiatuses from my hobbies are a regular occurrence. I know I’m likely to get back into it at some point, so there’s no sense in starting over every time. It’s just nice to step away once in a while, if the inspiration or motivation isn’t there. This time, it’s just for me; I got hooked on Instagram likes and such, which I was chasing and not getting, so it depressed me. I’m refocusing, to see if it helps me stay in longer.

 

I’ve been in one off and on the last few years, thanks to school and no spare energy. I’ve been trying to come back the last few months (went to my first doll meet!) but haven’t been able to do much. I kept interest by keeping my dolls visible. Pretty shelf ornaments wasn’t my ideal doll job, but it works right now. It’s the safest option.

I’m starting to consider another break for a while, for my own good. Had some weird stuff happen this spring. There’s no formal diagnosis, but it might be helpful for me to have limited access to information on an expensive hobby. Therapist has so far suggested sleep deprivation or hypomania. I’m inclined to believe the second. I managed to blow a month’s budget on an impulse purchase doll- not a big deal (had savings well enough to compensate, intentionally overly stingy budget anyway) except that’s wildly out of character for me. In previous suspicious incidents, I’ve started way too many craft projects, spent too much on supplies, etc. Plus not really feeling a need to sleep means I’m risking frying my sleep schedule even more with excessive doll craft time or doomscrolling. The insane amount of energy makes it too easy to overestimate and after a few days, I lost being able to feel like my mind wasn’t working right. My school/job has some very serious safety concerns with sleep deprivation, especially when I cannot realize I’m not functioning well. There’s other concerns too. Point is that when I’m like that, dolls are way too enabling for me to be majorly involved in a healthy way. Thankfully I struggled to stay focused long enough for any serious harm, but it could have gone so much worse if I didn’t have the attention span of a gnat.


Haven’t decided yet. Hopefully it was just a one and done, at least on that scale. Doing a lot better now, but still trying to play it safe. I do not need to know who is selling cute things right now. I did find some a few days ago but it was back to Reasonable Human Choice level. Still no formal diagnosis (I have theories), meds, or good quality therapy, so I’m just appropriating whatever coping mechanisms seem to keep things under control. My shelf ornaments let me enjoy the pretty without making other questionable choices.

Edit- so that was NOT a one time thing and I have a psychiatrist appointment this week. And more doll arriving in the mail . At least they’re cute, but those meds will pay for themselves at this rate… My original post was right as I was diving into another episode.

 

I have not touched my dolls in a while now. I think there are multiple reasons to that. Sometimes I take my dolls and put other outfits to them, but usually that's it.

I noticed that my interest to do something with my dolls have went down for few years ago. Our big hobby forum had to "put down" and I didn't have any active hobbyist friends anymore. They all had move on to something else. I also noticed that I'm not feeling satisfied when I'm photographing my dolls anymore. They are beautiful and all, but later when I'm watching the pictures I just see an object that is almost blocking otherwise beautiful nature shot. It's stange 'cause I have used to love taking pictures of my dolls. Now when I look back the pictures I just feel kinda nothing, it's just unlively resin doll, piece of plastic I have taken many pictures of. It's strange and hollow feeling.

Other reason is purely money. I feel like my dolls are never ending projects. Some of them are more complete, some of them would need right clothes or right wig (I feel with wigs it's so much gambling if you actually get something good), maybe shoes. Sometimes I take some of them out to play with, and then I imagine that she or he needs their signature clothes to show what kind of character or doll they are. Then I usually go to my fabric stash and again notice that I don't have anything I could use. I don't also have money to put for doll clothes or wigs (not my priority), so I usually go to my doll clothes and switch something to make them feel a bit fresh and put back to vitrine. Like they never going to get the look I'm imagining them to have feels sometimes sad.

But I like them, most of them atleast (I think selling some is so much hassle and headache). I like to watch them, sometimes play with them and then I put them away. They are not giving any negative feelings, they just are. But I have more interesting things to do, so there they will be, in the vitrine waiting for the new spark or just be.

 

I'm on hiatus right now because I moved to a very tiny place, all my dolls stuff is in storage. I can't get to my dolls because there's no space. I can enjoy my hobbies with such a small space. I pray my financial situation gets better someday to get a bigger place so I can enjoy my dolls like before.

 

A lot of this might be long and kind of deep for me to share, so if that's not something you're in the mood to read, maybe skip

Not sure I'm getting back into this hobby so to speak, I was kind of checking in here. I was very active on here in 2009-2010. I still have my dolls, but until last night, my first two had been packed away for a long time. They're sitting on some shelves now, but I feel sad about them.


Do you feel alienated from the bjd hobby when you used to feel involved?
Yes. I used to be very active in the hobby, especially when it came to meet-ups and having friends within this hobby. It's kind of hard to be involved in a hobby like this without some amount of consumerism involved, but I always made an effort to make this hobby much more than. My collection of dolls was small and I made the community/friends aspect of it a priority. I do wish I had gotten more into the artistic side of it with face-ups and sewing clothing (which I had somewhat), but I had been in college then and didn't have the time to really dedicate myself to that as much as I would have liked.

It's been a while since I've known or seen anyone who had been involved with this hobby, so I think that's making me feel more alienated from it than anything else.

The reason for distancing myself from this hobby is also making me feel sad and disappointed with myself. Maybe I'll get into that later in this post.

How is the journey going for you through your own circumstances with that?
I'm not sure yet. There's a lot about the internet that's changed, mostly changes that I don't like. It used to be so easy to find IRL friends from hobbies that began online. It's much more difficult now.

There are also other issues involved, my physical and mental health hasn't been great for a while (between delayed and misdiagnosis issues) so even if the community were the way it was before, I am not sure if I would have the energy or capacity for it.

If you are for any reason motivated to keep up your interest in bjds, what have you done to help facilitate this during the worse times?
Never intentionally left DoA, but I did scale back from participating significantly after a certain life event happened in late 2010. I had a few friends from this hobby that I remained in contact with on FB and would hang out with. 2016-1017 was another period of major change. It's been since 2016 that I had any involvement in the hobby in any way at all.

What motivates you to continue fighting for your previous interest in the hobby?
Maybe this is where I will get into the part of why I'd distanced from the hobby.

There was a relationship I had in those 2009-2010 years where I'd been most active with the BJD hobby. We were very different people, but that didn't seem to matter. Things he liked, I enjoyed hearing about even if I wasn't into doing them. It always seemed to be the same way in reverse as well. Two of my dolls had been gifts from this person, a Soom Rosette Fir, and a Fairyland Chloe fullset. The Chloe I ended up selling because it was too painful to have her around after what happened.

There was something that happened at the end of the relationship which defined it's end -- that was one thing. It was a painful experience, but the kind of thing that says more about him than me. What hurt far more though were the thoughts he had on me, including my doll hobby, a lot of it extremely mean and unkind. That made the entire relationship feel like a lie, or that I was unlikable, especially when he'd pretended the entire time to think it was cute or endearing. Didn't realize it then, but that was the start of where I started to hide things about myself, my passions, my interests, even with people I would become close with in the future. And I guess the way it began to manifest was by coming on here less, not being active in something I used to adore so much and enhanced my life in a lot of ways.

So I guess realizing all of this is why I feel like I should fight to regain an interest in this hobby. This hobby brought a lot of positivity for me and it makes me sad to look back and see how I'd let one person ruin that, even if I wasn't really aware of what I was doing.

Sorry if that's kind of deep or potentially oversharing.

Does anything continue to help you feel encouraged about your personal hobby for now or for the future?

I'm not going to lie, this feels like an awful time to try to get back into the hobby. The situation with tariffs is concerning, but I can find ways to enjoy the hobby without buying more dolls/stuff. What is a much bigger blow is the recent closure of Joann's Fabric. I'm the kind of person who needs to see and feel fabric, and there's no where to go to do that now. I also refuse to shop at HL, not even sure if they sell fabric anyway. I could try to do face-ups, but I am not sure if I am ready to re-buy the supplies I need for that.

So there's not a totally block to getting back into it artistically, but there are some barriers.

That leaves community and forums are just not what they used to be, sadly. I've lost touch with anyone I used to know more personally.

How has your relationship with your dolls changed in the process of this unwanted hiatus?
Strangely no. I still have them (except the Chloe) and love them dearly. This might sound so dorky, but there was a rose ring I started to wear when I got my Volks Suiseiseki because in the Rozen Maiden anime the rose ring was a link between the doll and their medium. I still wear this ring every day.

I parted ways with the Unidoll Ark head I'd acquired, that I deeply regret now.

Is there any way an inactive/passive hobby with bjd still has a positive impact on your life?
If being inactive = not buying stuff, there's plenty of ways to still enjoy this hobby and have it be a positive impact. To me, true inactivity means no community, no artistic involvement, no buying, in which case it doesn't have any impact (for better or worse).

 

Do you feel alienated from the bjd hobby when you used to feel involved?

I have always had a strange relationship with this hobby. Dolls, due to life circumstances, have never been my priority... Rent, studies, transport, etc. I have lived alone since a very young age and although I started in the hobby back in 2006, I have always enjoyed the community more than the easy overconsumption the hobby can lead to.

How is the journey going for you through your own circumstances with that?

When I started in the hobby I felt I had to be on top of all the trends. I don't mean knowing the new models, but being able to buy them. I bought one doll after another for a couple of years because I could afford it at the time, but this led me to make rash decisions and I ended up selling some of my dolls. This also helped me to learn how to ‘manage’ my dolls wishlist.

If you are for any reason motivated to keep up your interest in bjds, what have you done to help facilitate this during the worse times?

The fact is that I have dolls. I can do a thousand things with them. Yes, I can. I want new ones too, I won't deny it. Of course I want them, but I don't have the money for them and I've always stayed within a range of money that I don't go beyond. I have had limited dolls in the past and they have brought me nothing but headaches.
For me a doll is a new project that helps me explore other forms of creativity. Writing, designing the character, trying my hand at sewing, rummaging in second-hand markets, doing make-up, trying to make wigs... so once I'm budding with one project - which can last a long time - I feel overwhelmed to think of another. I may not be able to buy as many new dolls as I would like and this sometimes forces me to have hiatuses, but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy them in other ways.


What motivates you to continue fighting for your previous interest in the hobby?

I believe that there are situations in life that force you to have a break in any aspect of your life. This is the way it is. I have always kept in mind that it is a very expensive hobby and it is very easy to be tempted to buy a new doll, eyes, wig... I feel that my dolls can always get better and it is very easy to fall into overconsumption. I think patience and knowing how to manage finances is essential to be able to say ‘Maybe now is not a good time to spend a few hundred pounds on a new doll’ but maybe you can scratch that itch with a new outfit or try to do it yourself.

Does anything continue to help you feel encouraged about your personal hobby for now or for the future?

Dolls are my only hobby. I have a creative job and have resumed my studies in art where I am required to be creative. Dolls are the only thing for me where I feel free, without deadlines or demands and have been for many years.

How has your relationship with your dolls changed in the process of this unwanted hiatus?

The hype and the desire to research new doll artists and their sculptures is directly influencing my expendable income. Over the years I have learned to live with this and to appreciate the dolls that I already have at home as a safeguard too. They are like a safe den. Years ago I saw them as an unfinished collection and this hurt my relationship with the hobby a lot.

Is there any way an inactive/passive hobby with bjd still has a positive impact on your life?

I think the fact that they keep me ‘company’. Sometimes I find them to be a good moral support. Changing their clothes, or having them next to me and snapping a couple of quick pics can swiftly swift my mood for the better.

 

I'm pretty much on hiatus now, which seems silly as I kinda just got into the hobby

Mainly what happened is: I stopped having migraines all the time, so I went back to my first love, pixel art. I originally picked up BJD's because I wanted a way to show off my fashion sense that didn't involve looking at a computer all the time, but really I find it much easier to express myself creatively through pixel art, when that option is available. It's a little bittersweet: I had all kinds of BJD plans, which I would still like to see realized, but it's just really hard to put energy into them when there's something else I could be doing that I enjoy more...

There's a few other factors, e.g. lack of funds, not having any IRL friends in the hobby, not enjoying sewing doll clothes as much as I thought I would, not having anywhere to display my doll, etc.

I do tend to cycle through hobbies, as many other people have mentioned, so odds are I'll get back into it eventually. In the meantime, I have my Unoa sitting in my closet, so I see her every time I get dressed, and I'll give her a little wave or pat on the head. It's nice to have something pretty to look at every day, at least

 

I was effectively out of the hobby for a number of years due to losing touch with the local community and just not being able to keep up with it financially or in terms of my own motivation. I definitely felt a little alienated from the overall community, but every once in awhile I pulled my dolls out and took photos and stuff, and having a friend who was more active in the hobby meant I could have some fun with it every once in awhile. I love all my dolls dearly so I can't see myself truly leaving the hobby, but it's hard to stay "in" when I don't feel like I can do much with it.

I've recently moved and come back into the hobby because I miss the in person meet ups and it's been a fun way to make some friends here! (Well, I'm also in a better financial situation, which helps...) Knowing I'll be able to meet up in person and enjoy my dolls with other people really helps my motivation, even when the meet ups aren't super frequent. While I do get a lot out of it as a solitary hobby, being able to share the hobby with others has always been a lot more fun to me, so I'm naturally more motivated.

I think my relationship with my dolls has changed in the opposite way one might expect, whenever I drift away, it makes me want to come back more and makes me realize how important they are to me. A lot of the older ones have memories and sentimental value for me, so I think my bond to them has only gotten stronger. I don't know if I'd say an inactive or passive hobby has an impact beyond that, but I guess the build up of "oh I should do that with the dolls!" happening every once in awhile at least always gives me something to do when I come back.

 

I've been on a semi-hiatus for a while just because I haven't been able to do a lot of work-- a series of health and household emergencies have sidelined doll-related projects and they've spent a lot of time in storage. In the run-up to last year's doll collection, those health issues hit both my sister and I and kept us from building up stock for our booth, which led to us making the call to take this year off of vending... but, I'm really excited to just ATTEND and reconnect with the hobby by getting to go to panels and meet-ups, take more photos, etc.

The fact that I do attend an annual doll con has kept me somewhat connected to the hobby even during times when I haven't been able to do much of anything on my own.

 

I did a big house move and lost my motivation to do anything hobby related. At the same time I also decided to close my online business and de-stress. The de-stressing is working, but I no longer have the funds to buy bjds. I do miss working on my dolls, planning their outfits, and taking pictures. I just don’t have the motivation or patience like I used to. Things change and maybe I will be able to get that last dream doll on my wishlist someday.