Going back to just one doll?

Well, I have given thought about going down to only a few. I can't do one, as Mike has to have his best friend, King. It's mainly the SDs that take up so much room...

 

I thought about it and I couldn't do that. Thank god tinies don't need that much space

 

Back to 1 doll is just too lonely for me.

I shudder when I think of Saber being all alone =( .

 

While I do have an admiration for those that are content with just one, or very few, dolls, I have come to the realization that I can't do it. True, over the years I've amassed a much larger group than thought I would when I got my first ABJD, but looking over the list, there are really only a couple that I toy with selling. I think about it, and think about it, and then do nothing. Maybe one day, I'll part with those few that I'm less attached to, but perhaps I won't. They are all smaller dolls in my bunch, and don't take up very much room....at least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it for now! LOL!

Juli DC

 

My collection is rather small (I have 3) but I hope that one day, after I get all the dolls I have planned, I will revert back to 2 (not one) dolls. I have this thing about becoming obsessed and materialistic and I don't want dolls to be the center of my life. So I really hope that after I've finished "collecting", one day I'll downsize.

 

Oh yes! I've been there several times. I've had only one day for a large chunks at a time. The thing is, I get so inspired by that one doll, that I want more... and slowly but surely, I get more. And then I have a couple... and time passes and then I wish to have one doll again and I sell everything and get one doll to pamper and focus all my time and energy on. And then, the cycle repeats itself. I've had 1 doll for 2 years now, and have finally reached the point in which I have two dolls, and a 3rd one on the way. I'm not sure what direction this will take me, but in the past, I've always gone back to one doll. I think this time will be different, this time I understand how I work in the hobby and how I can only focus my energy and attention at one doll at a time, but it doesn't mean I don't love the other ones. ^_^

 

I don't really consider that since mine will all be connected and part of a story, in some cases it'd literally be tearing apart a family. I know that I'd just end up feeling guilty for making one doll be all on its own and/or selling any other dolls I had.

 

I want to downsize, but....I love all my dolls and all their different sizes and I'm even looking at a few more. I love options! I have one doll where if it were necessary to go to one, I'd keep, which is Myla (my JID Tania). She was my first and my most loved and photographed.

Sometimes I dream about only having one and just go crazy with her. But I know it's not realistic for me.

 

I have essentially done this, but in a different way..

I've had a number of different dolls in the past, different sizes and types and makes.. but I've found I'm really heartset on Volks SD13 4 sisters girls. Megu was the first girl I ever really fell for, and now I have one.. and a Kira, and a Sara as well.

But to make my answer more clear.. I essentially have three of the same doll. They're all SD13 4 sisters mold, the same face each with a different faceup, and almost the same bodies- SD13 girl, large or medium busts, with heeled feet, all from around the same production time. So.. I have three dolls, but I essentially have one. All the clothes, wigs, eyes, etc, are interchangable, all the same size.. If I did feel the need to sell off all but one, Megu is the obvious choice of who gets to stay, but if I so desired I could always sell the two extra bodies and keep the heads as makeup options, kind of how people have sleeping face or other expression heads or faceplates for their dolls.

 

I wish I had managed to keep to just one doll. I do tend to get a bunch and then sell a bunch off a little while later. I think I tend to reach a saturation point.

Some times I get a doll because I love the way it looks, but once I finish the customization process I'm "satisfied" and they move on again.

When I had one doll I sewed more and took more photos. Once I get more than one that tends to stop. I reach a creative block. In the past I've sold off all but one to get a more expensive doll on layaway, and while I only have the one doll on the shelf before the new one arrives I realize how happy I am, but it's too late; there's already another one incoming!

If I could go back to one now I would, but individually I just can't part with any of my girls. I also have several people who have threatened to stop me if I ever try get rid of some of my dolls.

(..and now I have three more on the way...!)

 

There are times when I feel overwhelmed by my collection... I doubt I could pare it down to ONE doll, though! I'd be breaking up families, and curtailing future planned (and spontaneous) photostories.

I do look longingly at a group pic I took in April 2006, when I had 4 tinies and 12 SDs, and think, "Oh, for those simpler times!"

 

Ohhh I feel you on this!!! I really would like to get my collection down to under ten dolls. At one point I had about 25, and I was so stressed out, always thinking about what they needed (faceup, wigs, clothes, shoes, etc). It started feeling like a chore instead of a hobby, plus I was getting materialistic, you know? I got it down to 8 (counting the ones on the way and not counting the ones up for sale). I am still trying to figure out who should stay and go... I still want a few sculpts, too, so I have to carefully pick out who is for me.

The real issue for me is that I have so much stuff for them! When I had 25, it seemed like I hardly had anything. Now that I have 8, it seems like I have soooo much stuff, lol. While I don't mind selling the dolls, selling clothes and stuff seems like more work, because there is more volume.

 

I consider this a few times each year.

Each time the biggest deterrent is the selling process. Getting a quote on what it would cost to ship a doll (probably out of my country since Sweden is fairly small), knowing that most insurances don't cover used goods and so on. Also for the first two that would go (a Resinsoul Yao and a Felixdoll Brownie) the anxiety of the selling process wouldn't be worth the small amount of money the dolls are worth.

So once I realize that selling isn't an option I contemplate packing all but one away... but then I start feeling guilty, I did buy them, and they did cost money, and just leaving them in a closet seems like a terrible waste...

So for now they are on a rotational schedule so only one or two are out at the same time... and that seems to work quite well for me.

 

I'd really like to only have one, but there is a select handful of dolls that I just can't part with no matter what. I think my lowest possible number is seven. That's just the way it is.

 

I feel relieved for you, Evelien. Looks like you've got everything under control.

I definitely understand the feeling. I've already gone through this same realization with pets. See, for a while I had a full menagerie. Then I realized: "Crap! All I have time and money for is to take care of animals, and I'm not really spending enough time with any one critter!" So when my pets began to die of old age, I just didn't get any more. That way, I had more time and money to spend on fewer animals. It's been sooo much more satisfying this way. Less really is more!

Dolls may not require the same care as animals, but they do require space, research, clothes, supplies of all kinds... they're super expensive, and so are their supplies... and if each doll has a different personality or size, each doll can have its own collection of wigs, clothes, eyes, everything! Which means more space and more money. And sometimes that's just not worth it to me. I have since realized that there's a huge difference between "Love" and "Attraction," and I really wish I hadn't bought two of the three dolls I have. Financially, it was unwise, and I don't think I "Love" them as much as I find them pretty and unique. I could probably part with them. (Although I won't. Hahaha)

As for my first doll, she is just purely satisfying to me. I think I could be happy with her for the rest of time.

 

When I first started this hobby, like many others, I definitely thought 'I will only get one doll'. I managed to keep to one doll for 2 years mainly because of financial constraints. However, when I started having more money, I started to 'collect' more sculpts. I've sold and bought, and now I have 8 dolls and 3 heads. I plan on buying more dolls, and will probably sell dolls in the future, as well. I have no plans on paring down to only one, or even two, dolls, but I only play with one or two dolls at a time, while the rest go into storage. That way, I can concentrate on the dolls I have out and don't get overwhelmed by the thought of having more dolls than I can handle.

 

I wish I could pare down to only one doll, but like so many others, it's not realistic for me. I have stopped collecting anymore and am thinking of just the core dolls that I will keep and the ones I can let go. I'm thinking only one big doll (40 to 50cm) and a few anthro tinies.

 

No, I'd never want to go back to one. I have a display cabinet set up for mine, and it would look very sad if there was only one doll in it! I would like to have fewer dolls, though. In addition to the cabinet, I have a little couch that four SD size dolls can sit on. I don't want to have so many that they can't be displayed properly.

However, if I could go back in time, I would try to convince my past self to only buy one or two instead of 20+. I like the idea of having a small number of spoiled dolls rather than so many that they don't all have a pair of shoes. I think once you accumulate a large number of dolls, it's hard to get back to only having one. Partly because some dolls you already own will have sentimental value, and partly because so many great new sculpts are being released.

 

My BJD collection isn't very large; I only have 7 and I've only been in this hobby for 2.5 years or so. There are many times where I see the dolls and wish that I could scale back and just go down to one. But my problem then becomes who to keep and who to put on the chopping block. The dolls are all tiny--and I got them because I fell in love with the sculpts; I think each and every one of them is so adorable that I just can't decide which one to keep with me, so rather than agonize over that, it is much easier to keep them all, despite feeling somewhat guilty that I've spent all that money on them. And also compounding the matter is that each doll has his/her own individual style. So even though they theoretically could share clothes, they require their own wardrobe because they wouldn't wear the same things that the other would.

Another thing is that all my tinies are characters that are 'related' to my OT dolls. If I sell any of my dolls, I'm pretty much breaking up the family.

 

I have never wanted to go back to having only one, but I have gone back to wanting only two. I started out in the hobby with two dolls and the most I have ever had at one time was four and considering the size of my home, even that few take up a lot of space with all the wigs, shoes, eyes and everything else. For me, I think two is the perfect number. I like to have some interaction between the dolls, since that is a big part of the enjoyment for me, I could never have just one. This isn't to say I may never find myself with more than two again. To some degree in this hobby you have to learn to 'never say never'. :P