Friends with dolls

I don't have any friends who have dolls. When I got my first few dolls, the friends I did have thought they were a little weird but humored me. A few years into the hobby, I told another friend about them, and she got really interested--not as a collector, but as an artist. It was really nice to have someone who was legitimately interested in the hobby and the stuff I was doing with mine, even though she's never actually joined me in doll ownership. To this day she's the only one who I've felt completely comfortable discussing them with.

 

My close friend and I try to get together every weekend (after DnD sessions lol) to do doll stuff. We usually sew, browse stores or just discuss doll plans and character stuff.

I've also gotten my mom into bjd, she ordered her first doll a couple months ago so she'll def probably become a doll friend lol

 

I dont have any friends in the hobby, but i wish i did. The friends i do have think its a bit weird. For instance one i bought one of my dolls to a d&d session and everyone got a little creeped out by her. Thats ok though if they dont get it i dont ask them to. All that matters to me is that they love and support me.

 

I got my bestie into it.

 

Oddly, nearly all my friends outside the workplace are doll friends. Until I got into dolls as an adult, I was busy being the 'sandwich generation'. Once my in-laws passed, I had loads of free time. I didn't have time for friends until then, because they were like my best friends! I didn't realize how much time I spent with my family until then. It certainly left a huge hole in my heart and life. One nice thing about dolls, they never die.

Dolls to the rescue! I had interest in bjds for several years but it took about 4 years from wanting one to having one in my arms. After I ordered my first, I got back on the forum here and shortly got into contact with several other members in my state. Quickly, I got heavily involved in the local meetup group. We are lucky that we do meetups nearly every month in Kentucky since I joined up. I hope the friends I have made are life-long friends. I really value their friendship. I've traveled to a larger convention in my region and met even more friends there! I work odd shifts now, so I don't see my local doll friends as much as I wish I could. I also got into an off-topic sort of doll and I role play him quite a bit, mostly with male doll owners. I don't hang out with them in person, but I consider a few friends since I got into gaming with them and RPing dolls. My work schedule means I now stay home alone a lot, it's socially isolating. I get very lonely now.

@ParlourGoddess For your situation, I would suggest this. For most, dolls and their characters are incredibly personal. Each individual enjoys their dolls a bit differently, but they are theirs to do so. It's a bit hurtful to try to change an other's perception or how they enjoy their own dolls or characters. Explain this to your friend in a very gentle way. I would fetch a bet she believes she is helping. If you don't let her know how and what you think and feel about your dolls and characters, she simply doesn't know. Let her know. She as a person is very important, because she has thoughts and feelings where the dolls do not, but your dolls are a part of you. Your thoughts are feelings are just as important as hers. I'm sure once things are sorted, perhaps you can play dolls together so it's fun for the both of you. I hope that helps!

 

So far the only real collector friend I have is my sister. We're both fairly new to bjds but we always share everything from information to clothes and wigs!

 

My best friend also collects BJDs but she has since moved far away from me. We used to mainly get together and do maintenance! Sueding, restringing, etc.

 

I'm fortunate enough to have several IRL friends in the hobby with dolls of their own. It makes for lots of fun visits with our dolls. Dressing them up and discussing stories. As for your friend though.... that's really rude, what she's doing. They're not her dolls to name or change. You should let her know you don't appreciate it.

 

@ParlourGoddess This is a good opportunity for you to practice the gentle form of assertiveness. It will be good practice for you. You can correct her on your doll's name and thank her for her input, but you're not changing your bjd's story, etc. I am hopeful that a little correction, calmly delivered, is all your friend needs to respect your boundaries.

If, however, she ignores your friendly corrections, you have a bigger problem.

 

Sadly I don't have any friends who are interested in dolls. There are local doll meets in my area, however, so it's a nice opportunity to meet and share ideas with people who are also in the hobby.

 

Having a doll friend IRL sounds like a dream. I get excited the one weekend a year I get to see other doll collectors at A-Kon. I would be ecstatic if I had a doll collecting friend, but I agree with other posters. You need to set some boundaries. It's not just about your dolls' stories- it's about being disrespectful towards you. Maybe she doesn't understand that, but you do need to have a conversation about her behavior towards you.

My friends aren't into dolls themselves, but they know all about my hobby. Sometimes I'll get Snapchats with some tiny item with a caption like, "Your dolls need this!" I didn't really feel ashamed or anything to share the price of the BJD I had preordered a while back. They understood that the dolls are like half art, half doll, so naturally there will be a matching price tag. They're also huge fans of the creative parts of the hobby, so while they're not doll people, it's great to at least be able to share what I'm working on for my dolls with them.

 

Let me beg you all to be cautious when mentioning how much you spend on anything.
Once you share that information, you have no control when, where and with whom your friends will repeat the information - social media, in public, etc. If cost comes up, keep it vague - "a lot" or "not much" or "I got a bargain" are all acceptable responses.
I hope we all have a great, enjoyable hobby this year with no bad experiences.

 

I have friends back in my hometown who collect BJD + other types of dolls. Haven't found anyone local to hang out with, but I did go to a meet-up and that was fun. I chat with my friends back home but it isn't the same as having a dolly day where we all just chill and eat pizza while talking dolls.

 

Yes, I have friends with bjd dolls.
In fact, I found new friends with this hobby. We often meet with dolls, or we go out together for other reasons

 

I only have one friend in the hobby and we talk about our dolls every now and then. We also go to a store near by that has BJD things. But in terms of her being as into the hobby as I am, she is not. She does have interest in my characters, stories, outfits, setup etc. but doesn't overly detail her own. She also sews so i try to nip some tips from her so i can create clothing of better quality for my dolls.

 

yes i have friend who got dolls too. She's the one that introduce me to this hobby. we always got plan together hahaha. and because she's the one poison me in the bjd, later i do the same to other friends

well about friend wanna change doll stories, i have that issue with one of my friend. sometimes it's a bit hard. but like u also, i just humor her. she can't collect dolls since her mum would be furious. some of the dolls she helped me pay of it. I dont mind about the doll we owned together and she want to named them, i just let her be. I just hope she didnt do that to the dolls i bought for myself because i have the characteristic for my dolls.

 

I tried to make friends with three girls, but all these relationships failed.

The first one was quite agressive and she was nice, but I'm sure she thought that buying a doll is only a whim for me and she thought I'm going to buy a recast, because I'm popably too poor for a legit doll. She was en elitist and was treating me like a baby who wants a candy and never will be as good as her.

The other girls were alright, but they had recasts. The first one tried to persuade me that her recast is better made than the original doll and that I am "worse" tha her because I don't have any doll.
The second one was hiding her recasts, but I found out when I saw that she tries to sell them in the FB group. And when I told her that it's not right and that I'm really disappointed of her, she told everyone about our private conversation and people from the group asked me to leave it, because I was insulting the girl.

So now I am alone, but I'm grateful for DoA, because I met really nice people here.

 

I’d love BJD friends. As big as my location is, I haven’t found any sort of groups for BJDs... Though I could just be not looking correctly. But I’m also not really willing to go to at least one group that I do know of, so that’s on me.

My best friend collects OT dolls, and she’s willing to let me ramble about BJDs to her. She’s more about restoring than she is customizing. But she also lives across the country, now. She doesn’t talk about her doll activities to me, either, really— though I do ask questions and try to start conversations about it.

 

I only have friends from the internet that collect dolls

 

i have no friends with dols unfortunately which feels like im being put in a box a bit? as they think the hobbie is creepy and werid id love to make more doll friends but unfortunately im very shy and my anxiety stops me from meeting new people easily