Getting back into the hobby after a long hiatus?

I got my first BJD as a teenager in 2016, but the intimidation from the price tag of the doll as well as my more pressing interest in playline fashion dolls at the time caused me to take a break from the hobby from roughly 2017 until 2023 after I graduated college. It was actually when I got my first doll out of his box to prepare to sell him that I started playing around with him a little and remembered how cool I thought these dolls were. My partner noticed how I lit up when I showed them the doll and encouraged me not to sell him and to give the hobby another try!

My tastes had changed a lot since I was a teenager and I ended up getting him a completely new wig and eyes, and completely rethinking his style and character to reflect my new preferences. Since then I've added a lot more BJDs to my collection.

As far as getting back on track with companies and releases, I just got back into the habit of spending a lot of time on DoA/Instagram/BJD Discord and the information kind of seeped in that way. I had a big wishlist of dolls I bookmarked back around 2014-2016 and it was fun to go back through those as an adult and decide which ones I still liked and and wanted to pursue getting and which ones were no longer my style.

I've found myself trying a lot more things and getting more deeply involved in the hobby now as an adult than I ever was in my teens, and it's been really fun! I've gotten to practice faceups, mods, restorations, and sewing, and I've been more involved in the community than I was before. The highlight of my return to the hobby (besides the dolls themselves) has been getting to go to Resin Rose these past two summers and spending time with other collectors in person!

 

I've been out of the game for almost 10 years now and recently just started thinking about dolls again!~ I'm a bit lost where everyone hangs out now. Does anyone know where the community actively posts photos and connects? I was part of the Flickr crowd and that has long since died

 

The two most active places seem to be Instagram and Discord! There's a huge BJD Discord server that's very active, here's a link: Join the BJD Discord Server!

 

I took about a years break once I went back to school, and now getting back into it I am just as in love with my dolls as I was before I left! The Discord server has been awesome for getting back into the community and having somewhere to post about my dolls

 

Could you update/message me the link? This appears to have expired?

 

I was curious about this too so I googled 'bjd discord server' and was able to find a live invite link! I think if I relink it the invite will still work: here? Otherwise it was a top result when I googled.

I've joined and it's definitely still a nice active community space!

 

I actually left the hobby for a few years and I think I might be rejoining now. I am on the discord and all the tutorials there are making me want to do create things again (like wigs etc.)

 

I got into the hobby in 2015-ish but then I focused more on my career and rehomed my dolls. Got back in and remembered I had a DOA account and managed to log back in with the mod's help. By then I had only remembered some companies namely Iplehouse and Soom.

I feel like the bjd hobby has changed, I think the users I recognize have left(?) but there's also a lot of new stuff, because there's a lot of creators on ig who I don't know and they have tonnes of clothes, sculpts, accessories but everytime I look, a lot of their items are sold out or they are Chinese/Korean creators and I have no idea how to contact them!

I managed to order a Telesthesia Buroy for myself (ah! lyaway!) and got him some nice clothes so I'm waiting for him to come home. I don't think I will be too active but will be nice to take some photos of him and to dress him up lol.

 

I left the hobby for a while because I just stopped liking dolls. Then the pandemic happened, and I went into the hospital twice over the course of 2 years. After I left the hospital the second time I decided to get back into the hobby, but only because I decided to sell all my dolls and through handling them all realized there were two I was still really interested in.

Obviously everyone's going to experience getting back into it differently, but for me it happened really slowly. I redid the faceup of one doll and gave my SD boy a faceup. Then I finished him by buying him a wig and eyes, finally. After that I was in the hobby again, like, semi-permanently. I don't know when I'll lose interest again, but atm I feel like I'm in it for the long haul.

 

Like many people here I took a long hiatus from the hobby. My interest was already on the wane and then the pandemic hit which put dolls and most of my hobbies on the far back burner.

This last two years though I’ve started again- mostly with clothing and I just got my first full doll in about 10yrs. I plan to sell a lot of heads and really hone my collection down to the dolls I truly want and have a strong interest in.

 

For people who've experienced a long dolly hiatus; how long was it and how did you get back into the hobby?
My hiatus was about 15 years long! No new dolls, clothes, accessories, etc. I did keep in touch with some doll friends though and used to see some regularly. That ended about 8 years ago I think?

What really got me back into the hobby was finding this video by MaryLoveMew. Something about it reawakened my desire to be more active in this hobby again.

How did you react to your dolls after such a long break?
For the bulk of my hiatus, my dolls were still on a shelf and I'd still do minor maintenance things like changing outfits, cleaning, etc. Late 2016 I moved though, and they got packed up. Unpacked briefly in 2018, but packed again shortly after. I moved a lot. In 2020 I was reunited with them, but had been really upset over the state of my first doll so they were packed away again. I wrote about the first doll here, her "yellowed" state has a good ending.

How did you get yourself back on track with new releases, companies, faceup artists, goals, wishlists, etc.?
The state of the hobby, especially after this long, has a high capacity to be very overwhelming. There are so many new companies, it's staggering. I am pretty much not forcing myself to get up to date on everything. When there are new doll announcements or photo galleries posted, I'll check those out. I'll look up stuff for my favourite companies, but otherwise I am not stressing over having a 15 year gap in BJD news.

Goals and wishlists can be developed as time goes along.

Were you still attached to your dolls after your hiatus, or did you reset your collection?
I'm still very attached to them and could never fathom resetting my collection.

Any tips for people trying to get back into the hobby?
Yes. If your collection feels old or maybe even stale, I would recommend doing some maintenance first before selling them all off. I used to hate restringing dolls, but recently when I restrung all of them, I found it to be really pleasant and nostalgic. It was a great bonding activity. I would say the same for cleaning the dolls, or even just putting different outfits on them to change things up a little. If the investment seems worthwhile, maybe a new face-up -- sealants can yellow and something fresher can make a world of difference.

The other thing I would recommend is to not feel pressure to keep up. Hobbies are meant to be enjoyed, not points of stress, you know?

 

I just got back in thanks to Marie Kondo.
I drifted away because of being busy with work and other interests about 7ish years ago.
Fast forward to this summer when I started my decluttering project. I've been going through everything I own to see what "sparks joy", and selling and donating the rest.
When it was time to go through my doll family, I realized they all still bring me joy.
Now, I'm browsing for new shoes, wigs, and eyes for them and binge watching faceup videos.

 

It's been about 6+ years of hiatus from the hobby just due to college, life stuff etc. and I kind of unexpectedly got back into BJD through blind boxes. The smaller form factor, affordability and already having clothes, hair and a faceup while still being customizable really appealed to me. Before I knew it I had snowballed into looking at full size resin BJDs again, lol.

I think for a while I'd kinda lost connection with the two dolls I have; they're based off OCs that I never really fleshed out and frankly am not as interested in anymore. Their sculpts aren't ones I absolutely love, either. I have a third doll I purchased to make an OC with, but it never really panned out and I don't have any attachment to her. Not only have my tastes changed as I've grown up, but I've realized what I want dolls for, and its less to make OCs and more to have something aesthetically pleasing to me. I have plenty of OCs that I love, but making dolls of them doesn't really excite me. Having cute dolls with my favorite combinations of colors and aesthetics sounds a lot more fun! I really like the idea of putting all the things I like in character designs/aesthetics together to make dolls that are just everything I love. Kind of like mini-me's, but not so much resembling me physically. I've also realized that fully blank dolls are a bit intimidating even if it means lots of customization. I often get so fixated on details and wanting everything perfect that it paralyzes me from doing anything at all, and I end up with an unfinished doll sitting in my closet.

I'll hopefully be selling the current dolls I have to start completely anew in the hobby. It'll be exciting to be able to give them new homes and not feel weighed down by the guilt of having them sit in my closet. I've felt a bit overwhelmed by all the choices and options around nowadays, but its been fun (and painfully tempting) looking at everything! I've just been scouring doll vendor sites looking at all the dolls I can. I've even been trying to plan concepts for dolls but also trying not to overcomplicate it and feel too overwhelmed. I really still love dolls but want to take things smaller and slower this time, so I don't make purchases I regret. I'm making new wishlists to organize myself and my ideas and hopefully pace myself better so I can give all the love for my new dolls.

 

I just fell back on to DoA after over a decade. I fell off because life happened and I didn't have internet for several years, and other health stuff, but I never gave my four boys away, they just slept in a closet for a while. I lost all their clothes and things in a fire, but I got the dolls themselves out, so they still have their eyes and wigs. I never didn't like them, I just didn't have TIME, you know? I just got them out about a month ago and sewed my first new garment in a long time, and man do I need a sewing machine. XD

My hands are getting too old to be sewing such tiny seams by hand. All my boys are 1/4 scale ones, so they aren't the smallest but still, setting in a sleeve at that scale is an event. Some need new faceups because of yellowing over time, but I still love them. Do I want more? Sure. But right now I just can't justify the expense. Maybe some time later.

 

I spent years inactive in the dolly hobby. Mostly it was due to being a teenager / young adult / mom and being unable to afford dolls, but also due to stress and depression. What really helped me get back into the hobby was making a dedicated doll Instagram and interacting with people on there - even if I wasn't able to participate in the hobby myself. It jump started my love of the hobby again and gave me so many ideas and inspiration