Getting back into the hobby after a long hiatus?

Yet another person who's back after a long hiatus, logging into and posting at DoA for the first time in years. I got my first BJD in 2009, bought and sold a few more over the years, then kinda fell out of the hobby around 2013 (judging by my last post here) as my life circumstances and hobbies changed. My dolls have been in their bags tucked away on a shelf for that long. I should get them out again.

It was great to read this thread and know that I'm not alone in leaving and returning to the hobby! Sounds like the BJD scene has definitely changed over the years, I look forward to discovering more.

 

13 years out and I got sucked (or should I say suckered?) back in by the pretty face in my avatar. Trying to recapture/recreate her has been a mixed bag so far. Some aspects are as fun as they used to be - such as seeking out the perfect bits and pieces. Others are every bit as disheartening, like when something doesn’t go to plan. I’d have thought I would have known or remembered what to expect, but somehow I tricked myself into believing it’d be easier/quicker to achieve everything what I wanted to since I’ve done this all before. Yeah… not so much. YMMV.

 

Hi!
I have always been obsessed with miniatures and everything related to bjds really fit into that obsession. However, I think I got put off from the hobby because of the views of people around me. It is very common to be scared of dolls and find them creepy and it is really interesting how easily that idea spreads through media. My own insecurities probably made the magic go away a little bit. It probably sounds like a stupid reason but I was only 13 years old when I entered the hobby

Now it has been many years since I appreciated my dolls or did anything with them, and I find it sad since they are absolute pieces of art

Do any of you have any tips to get back into the hobby? I think a big part of what put me off besides the social stigma is the fear of damaging the dolls... now I am considering selling them because I need the money but since I live in Sweden I feel like my chances of selling them to someone trustworthy are slim. There are very few people in the hobby in Sweden which might also have affected the magic for me (for example, the only bjd event in sweden stopped a few years ago during corona).

 

There are plenty of bjd accounts on social media sites like Instagram if you're looking to remain in the hobby. I follow several, whether they speak English or not! I think that if you want to remain or get back into the hobby, you should just dive in. And if you honestly do want to sell some or all of your dolls, that's okay too. This is a hobby and hobbies are meant to be enjoyed. Nobody should be judging you if you want to keep your dolls and nobody should judge you if you want to sell them. Everyone is different and that's okay. You should do what's right for you!

I've been here since January of 2006 (but was lurking longer) and didn't buy any bjds or stuff for them for a good nine years because of financial struggles, the corona virus and such. I still looked, but didn't buy. And then last year I ended up getting 2 1/4 sized bjds, a 1/4 head, a 1/6 off topic bjd, and five off topic tiny bjds. And this year I got three more off topic tinies and I just ordered a 1/4 body for that floating head. But I also sent one of my old 1/3 boys to a trusted friend as a gift and will be selling another 1/3 boy soon, and it's the first time in 18 years that I've willingly parted with bjd that I feel need a new home. Sometimes it happens that way.

Take your time with your decision and good luck with whatever choice you make!

 

I took a 10-year hiatus away from the hobby where I put my dolls in a closet and forgot about them, at one point I considered selling them and getting out forever... but I came back about 1.5 years ago and am very glad I did! I'm enjoying everything so much now.

What I did was to ease in gradually, take time to explore what has changed in the hobby since I was away, what new dolls and things were being made. I was away from BJDs for so long that a LOT had changed, I felt I was a newbie all over again, so I just went along for the ride and had fun rediscovering the hobby. I also started with the dolls I had -- I sold a few I wasn't interested in anymore, completed one that was in a partly finished state, and decided to spruce up my collection by buying them new clothes and eyes. I also wanted to learn how to paint faceups and take doll photos, so I slowly did that. Later on, I started learning how to sew. I dabbled in whatever "doll activities" interested me at the time (faceups, sewing, photography), discovered I liked doing them, and pushed myself a little bit further in doing and learning more. And of course, I bought new dolls and clothes and stuff I'm still having fun doing all of the above.

I think getting back to the hobby means rediscovering the fun and joy and magic that drew you in at first, and the way that happens is to follow your enjoyment. I'd encourage you to start with the dolls you have, explore with them, buy some things for them, see whether you still like them or want to buy new dolls. You say that you're a bit afraid of breaking or damaging... BJDs are quite sturdy and can withstand routine handling just fine! If you feel timid, I think you can start with changing their clothes and wigs, take them around while you're at home and sit them with you, pose them a little... get comfortable with handling them. Then you can push your comfort zone out little by little, do something a bit more difficult -- like change their eyes, restring, getting them to stand up, learn some crafting/faceups. Explore what you like to do with dolls, and if you discover something fun, do more of it! And if you end up not enjoying BJDs at all, that's fine too -- you can sell them, or put them away again, they'll wait patiently for you.

Good luck with it, I hope you rediscover the joy of having BJDs!

 

My story is different from yours, but personally, what brought me back into the doll hobby was to sell some of them and try to re-focus my collection, I was feeling overwhelmed and this helped a lot to keep the motivation and choose to invest in what truly mattered to me in my collection (because it's easy to buy too much and end up with dolls and items that are not really meant for you.

For your personal situation, there are several things I could say :

I completely understand your feeling about how people view your collection, people judgements can really have an impact on how we perceive our dolls and it can also make us doubt and feel uncomfortable. As I've seen in previous comments, I'd advise you to find a group or a social media where you like the mood and that will be in a positive/safe environment to give you more faith in your hobby and your dolls and where you can connect more directly with other doll collectors (I mostly use instagram and a couple of groups on facebook in French in my case (as I'm from Belgium) but maybe there's a swedish group that exist ? or you could even create one, just something chill to organise doll meeting if that's something you like or even sell directly with other people from your country for example

If you want to sell some dolls and stuff, facebook is always an option, even here on den of angels, you can find people in the EU interested for a sale, even though it's not directly in Sweden, you can sell in Europe and avoid customs for your potential buyers, so that can work too

I hope you will find your way in your doll collection ^^

 

Another Swedish BJD lover here!
I think there are actually plenty of us, just not all in one place. I miss the old swedish bjd forum before it died the facebook death along with so many other smaller hobby spaces. I have heard some people hang out on discord these days, but I've heard mixed views on how nice that group is and I've never used it myself, so I can't exactly recomend it.

However, I have a few IRL friends I've picked up over the years and there are many swedish people here on DoA as well so I don't exactly feel lonely. I have a now close friend I met after stumbling across her here on DoA and realizing from her profile that we live in the same city, I sent her a message and we've been friends ever since. And not that long ago I bought a doll via the DoA marketplace from a seller living not far from here either, so it's fully possible to find people local to you even on an international forum like this. i don't think you can search for it specifically.
Feel free to send me a message if you want to talk!

I sometimes toy with the idea of hosting small meetups, because I really think there are a lot of us around and a lot of people are so fed up with the ecco chamber like groups that tend to form on general social media sites and I don't like the political segregation that happens when you demand that people have to agree to the ToS of a mass social media site to be able to praticipate in a meet or event, because a lot of us simply will not do that. We thrive in other spaces instead.

 

So I know there’s a stigma around collecting dolls, but I’ve literally never encountered it. I’ve told my boss, and a handful of coworkers about dolls when they asked what I was doing over the weekend—I used the euphemism “1/3 scale articulated statues” or referred to them as character models, and they thought it sounded super cool. I’m online dating right now, and I don’t declare my dolls on my profile, but I’ve told a few prospective suitors about my dolls, and they all thought it sounded super cool. I’m sure there are judgy people out there, but honestly more people thing dolls and their owners are cool and interesting. Also, many people feel they have to hide their interests, whether it’s video games, or DND or dolls, and so I find that when I disclose my hobby, people get more open about their hobbies to me.

also, dolls are really hard to break. I say this as a modder, when I’ve had to “break” dolls (such as cutting legs and torsos in half) it’s taken an insane amount of effort to do it. I’m more or less convinced that Major Damage (like cracking a torso in a way that impairs function) is virtually impossible to do by accident. Minor damage is possible. You might break a couple fingers. You might chip an ankle or something, but those are easy fixes with some super glue and some apoxie sculpt. But it’s hard to damage resin when you’re surreptitiously trying to damage it, I have learned, so you don’t have to be afraid to handle your dolls.

finally, for how to get back into the hobby, I find being active on DoA and on my doll discord server have helped me feel like I’m in the hobby. I also try to do things for my dolls. Like maybe sew something for them if you sew, or craft them a prop (or some eyes or a wig), or redo a faceup. I’ve found just working with the dolls that I have helps me to enjoy them more, and in my case means I buy less dolls, because I’m satisfied with working with my own dolls.

 

I have been out of the hobby for 13 years, since i came back in last april.
In 2011, i sold all my dolls (except my very first one) mainly because my family thought i was "too old to play with dolls" (i was 34yo at this time) and not mature enough. I didn't really stopped to watch my favorites bjd sites and pinterest to see new bjd, and dream of them. I even purchased again one of the favorite bjd i had.
I kept her and my very first bjd (the one i kept) in their boxes for years until last april. As i had come to the point to sell them both, because i did nothing with them, i simply opened their boxes and it was clear i couldn't sell them. They were too precious for me, and i felt that i was missing the entire hobby.
I can say i really have fallen again in the hobby: i am waiting for 3 dolls today, and have a loooooong wishlist. But i am really happy, more than ever.

Concerning how to come back in the hobby, i would say: don't force yourself into it. Maybe take some times to see beautiful bjd pictures, like on Pinterest or on Official sites of Bjd brands you like. Maybe (if it's not done already) imagine their background, their character, who they could be in their own world. Maybe write about it if you feel the need. I truly think that anything creative you could make for them could help. Maybe you also need some time out of the hobby too, to refill the need to take care of your doll ^^
Hope it will help you!

 

I was there! And my lesson learnt while I was away from hobby is that "It's not weird if I don't make it weird" and "the world isn't that interested in me to keep holding a grudge of criticism and negativity on my (fill the blank)"
I always liked dolls but got embarrassed about it as soon as I hit teenage. I wasn't a child but not as mature to embrace dolls as a grownup hobby. When I was 12, I sneaked to the cashier at the store to pay for a Barbie dress, telling the cashier that it was for my little sister. The cashier told me it is ok to like dolls and that a lot of grownups collect and adore them, too. Fastf orward, I bought my Volks SD when I was 18. I was broke, didn't have knowledge and couldn't enjoy the hobby so I sold her shortly after.

At age of 32, I bought myself a doll with my first individual tax return. Oh how I love and enjoy my dolls now!! Internet helped me on learning about the hobby, my job gave me freedom to invest in dolls, and I was mature and confident as individual.

Now at 35, I am super open about my hobby. I even make my artworks out of them and the photograph has been selling well. Using my art as excuse to own dolls, I am even more confident now.

I hope you find your sparks

 

So the easiest way to ease into it is...if you remember a doll you've always admired or wanted, or something specific you always wanted to experiment with, just go with that first. browsing mandarake or stacyspinkocean are 2 fun places you could start browsing?
since you mentioned miniatures these days, gachas are so elaborate and perfectly sized for dolls buying a few of them motivated me to stop being lazy and get my dolls together.

 

Thank you so much for your reply! I definitely still feel inspired when I open their boxes, especially with my first BJD I got. Maybe I will start being more active here as a first step!

I love your way of describing BJDS to your coworkers, I have probably failed a bit when I have tried to describe it which resulted in a confused reaction. Your way sounds much cooler! Thank you for all your tips as well, I will start by posting more here on DOA.

Those are some great tips! I think another way for me to get more inspired is weirdly enough also to sell the dolls I don't enjoy haha.

Haha I have a similar but opposite story! One time I went to buy a monster high doll at a toy store when I was a teenager and a girl who definitely was older than me did a "looser" sign on her forehead to me... she definitely thought I was too old.

But thank you for the motivation! I am getting back into art of all kinds so maybe that applies to bjds too.

Oh wow! That is actually really inspiring! I really agree with everything, especially with the ecco chamber thing, that is definitely the vibe that all the facebook groups I'm in give off. I feel like I came back to a completely different hobby haha.

One thing I have been thinking about for the last few years is the jointed hearts convention (I don't really remember what it was called) here in Sweden, when corona happened it just died with no more updates which was tragic

But anyways, I will send you a follow right away!

Thank you so much! I definitely think I got the three BJDs I have too young, even though I was "mature for my age" or whatever. Waiting like you would maybe have been a better call for me but I the excitement I felt when I was waiting for the dolls was worth it at that time haha! My biggest problem wasn't buying them though, but instead being too careful and scared to do much with them, I realize that now .

 

I left the hobby due to many reasons some of which were loss of interest and mainly very little time plus I always was a crappy photographer , I also had lost my job back then and the funds were limited. Family and duties are to come first and so for years I was too preoccupied to bother with my bjd's , also my space is more limited than back then and the fact I have too many obliged me to store many of them packed up instead of displayed . To me the way back to the hobby is through thinning my collection to a manageable size that can be displayed in my current space .I came back to the hobby last year and was ready to do all fun stuff with my dolls that I am intended to keep forever but the burden of a load of dolls packed up just taking space just messes my mind .I am a bit of easily distracted person with OCD and I can't realy function well in overload .... so my personal way back to the hobby is through KonMari my collection and thinning it up to a manageable and enjoyable size (plus get a DSLR camera with the money I'm getting from sales which I'm sure will make photographing doll more enjoyable and I hope my photos will be better that the crappy things that are now) !!!

 

If you love miniatures, you can always tell people you collect miniatures and Articulated Art Figures that go into scenes. I tell people I collect and customize fancy Art Dolls and that seems to sweep away the horror movie baby doll stereotype they're thinking of. (I DO have a handful of antique/vintage "creepy" old fashioned dolls too, an inheritance from my grandmother's family, but I'll only show those to other dolly people who aren't gonna be weird about it)

If you love tiny dolls and dolls that work well in small scaled scenes, the new abundance of 1/6 Mature fashion type dolls is going to thrill you! Have a look at Raccoon Doll for a start.
There are also a lot of companies doing cool stuff in the lines of fairies and friends: Check out DreamHigh Studio, and of course Fairyland, who is back to doing periodic orders on pukipukis and have a few newer things too. I love dioramas and roomboxes myself!

 

I'm also recently back from a couple-year hiatus caused by a...less than wonderful relationship that is thankfully over. He wasn't the direct cause, he knew I had the dolls and didn't really care about them either way, but I was so involved in his shenanigans, trying to keep a home with a less than stellar income, plus a destructive puppy I didn't want...yeah.

The funny part is, I was brought back in by my recent love of watching Monster High customs/repaints on Youtube, and I saw a video where someone customized a Smart Doll Pear. Before I knew it, I had one in my hands and started to wonder how everyone on DOA was doing, even knowing my new girl would be off-topic. But I still have my resin crew (and a new boy from the marketplace to boot! gosh, that's such a dangerous section of this site...) Happy to be back!

 

How long was it and how did you get back into the hobby?
I took a long break, maybe 8-9 years. My dolls sat in the cabinet. I made sure they were okay, as they are important to me. But I had stopped taking photos, buying clothes, or doing anything with them.
Thinking about it now, I had slowly stopped because my friend group, with whom we all ended up getting dolls together, stopped hanging out due to life changes, and some of us stopped being friends. But recently, I found myself coming back to them. I've missed them for some time. Maybe it's because I have my one best friend back in my life, with whom I started the BJD journey. We both got dolls based on our OCs that are intertwined with each other. I even recently took all her dolls in, as her husband doesn't like them much, lol. Which is fine; I'm more than happy to do so. My dolls can have their friends back again.


How did you react to your dolls after such a long break? How did you get yourself back on track with new releases, companies, faceup artists, goals, wishlists, etc.?
I still feel the same as I always have with them. But I feel like I've been gone for so long; boy, things have changed. Sculpts, sizes, styles, and a lot more, so I'm definitely still navigating through it all. Also, dang, counterfeits weren't really a thing, and now they are. So I'm definitely watching out for that. Almost feel like a newbie again, lol.
It's sad to see DoA isn't the same as it used to be, but I'm still happy to be back around. I even made an IG for my dolls, so I go on there too.
But it definitely didn't take me long to adopt one after seeing him for sale on IG. It sparked me to create a new OC, so I'm very happy about that.


Were you still attached to your dolls after your hiatus, or did you reset your collection? Any tips for people trying to get back into the hobby?
Still very much attached to them and would never change them. I'd say if you find that spark again, definitely start checking things out and seeing if jumping back in feels right.

 

This is a very interesting topic for me as I took a long hiatus myself in the past. Seeing everyone's reasons for going away and then returning helped me to return and to think about what drove me away and not repeat the mistakes of the past. It's been a few years since I came back from my own hiatus, so I think I now got perspective enough to talk about it.

• For people who've experienced a long dolly hiatus; how long was it and how did you get back into the hobby? My hiatus officially lasted from 2016 to 2020, but I wasn't really back until 2022. My dolls remained in my parents' house while I went to live with my soon-to-be-husband for a year. When I went back to my parents due to a family matter, I wasn't really in the mood for interacting with my dolls. I was already struggling to feel comfortable with my collection before and didn't feel the joy I was supposed to feel, but now life was more complicated on its own to figure out what was wrong with that too. Still, I was always checking DoA every once in a while
  
• How did you react to your dolls after such a long break? In 2020, I half-way came back cause I found out through a fellow doll-collector that one of my grail dolls was in the second-hand market, so I got it. The doll took a long while to arrive (and with a huge customs) and I tried playing with the others, but the problems that I had before weren't gone, so I wasn't really that excited about my dolls anymore and just stored the new one with the rest.
  
• How did you get yourself back on track with new releases, companies, face-up artists, goals, wish-lists, etc.? DoA has always been my main source of information, so I just came here and slowly started finding out what had changed, what companies were still in business and which weren't, etc. I also re-read all the written information I had about my dolls and the plans I used to have and the photos I had taken.
  
• Were you still attached to your dolls after your hiatus, or did you reset your collection? If I'm sincere, at first I though about selling them all and never looking back, but I couldn't bring myself to it because I get really attached to the things that have meaning to me. One day of 2021, I don't what got a hold of me but I decided to try making a wig for my first doll, which was something I had never even thought of trying. That first mess of a wig led me to try making another one, and another one. And that's when it weighed down on me. It wasn't all my dolls or the hobby I wasn't attached to anymore, it was just the characters I had created for them so long ago. It was not an easy process, but after their characters changed, I suddenly was on board again. Only one doll was marked for sell because I really couldn't think of anything interesting to do with it.
  
• Any tips for people trying to get back into the hobby? Do not rush the process. Think about the reasons behind your hiatus and what will make your return better. Everyone has their own pace and their own way of collecting. It took me the longest time to understand that and feel comfortable with it. Comparison is the thief of joy, as they say.

 

Well I am coming back to the hobby after a 5 year long hiatus. After covid happened it made it hard to attend meet ups and generally feel connected in the doll community for me. So now I am back after a lot for me has a changed for me. Predominantly being I have acquired a home last year and really should unpack my dolls lmao. Well I did come back with a bang and brought 5 maybe 6 dolls during this Black Friday/Cyber Monday span. I previously had 9 (sold 3) now have 6 dolls previously before my hiatus and now since I have done some maturing have narrowed down my likes more and what I need out of my new bjds going forward. Nice to be back and broke.

 

the fact that your family just decided to"ah yes, i will get rid of my adult childs thing" is crazy. like thats awful!! i'm sorry that happened to you.

it's really hard getting back into the hobby. i've ducked in and out over the past several years, and i think its so interesting how every time i come back the community has changed so significantly. i find that so fascinating, its also nicer as an adult. compared to when i was a teenager it just felt so hard to be involved in. but now, i am freee!

 

I got into the hobby as a teenager and was a total die-hard. DoA was my life and I met one of my lifelong best friends through this forum! I even gave a speech about dolls for one of my classes - but once I started university and my career, I lost touch. I was living paycheck-to-paycheck in small apartments without much room for my dolls, couldn't afford the nice things I wanted for them, and above all I think I got a bit embarrassed about what people might think if they saw such large dolls when visiting (especially when I was dating).

Just two weeks ago however, I was discussing the hobby with my friend and something just clicked. I remembered how happy the dolls made me, and I think I'm finally old enough to not worry about what people think. I'm also in a very happy, supportive relationship that doesn't make me self conscious about the hobby.

Luckily, I had 3 of my favorite dolls in storage still, so I brought them back out and was immediately so happy ~ Regarding getting back into things on the community side/catching up, I obviously got back on here first, and then searched every doll company I could remember to see if they were still operating. I'm less concerned with the news side of things though, I'm mainly just excited to paint & create things for my dolls and to go meetups again!