Hobby "Breaker", Breaks or going on Hiatus from the hobby

Oh yes. About a year ago I took a break, stopped taking pictures, or doing anything for the dolls I have, and have just gotten started back up again in the last month.

It was very intimidating seeing all of the new companies and sculpts! I basically went to the wiki page listing all of the companies and just sat down and went through them all over the course of a few days. I feel better for having gone through it, now I have sites with styles I like bookmarked, and I don't feel like I'm missing out on some mysterious unseen sculpt!

I also tried to catch up on news on this site, but basically I just ended up marking everything as read and starting fresh.

All of that said, welcome back!

 

I took a long break for over a year when I moved. It's a very stressful thing to move and it was a lot of work,so all my hobbies were boxed away for a long time. I still browsed through doll pictures and looked at new sculpts,so I wasn't completely out of the loop when I started back again.

 

Have you taken a break from this hobby?
Yes, and I think that I am in this period so far...
If so, why and for how long?
The reasons were very personal, and I had a lot of thoughts about what this hobby means in my life.
If you've been gone for a number of years like I have, do you find it intimidating to catch up on all the new companies and sculpts?
I have one favorite company for years, I don't catch the news from other companies, so... no, it's not intimidating. )

 

Have you taken a break from this hobby?
Yep

If so, why and for how long?
I got into a really tight spot in my life. I was without a job for a long period of time and moved around a lot. It took over two years until things fianlly calmed down and I could unpack and sort them all out again.

If you've been gone for a number of years like I have, do you find it intimidating to catch up on all the new companies and sculpts?
Yeah! When I first reentered everything seemed so changed! The people have changed, the attitude, the companies, the prices to a certain degree... I am still trying to catch up where I left.

 

Have you taken a break from this hobby?
Yes, I just recently returned from it myself. I still had my dolls out for most of the break (minus a short transitional period) and saw them regularly, but wouldn't fuss with them or change their clothes or anything. A lot like what it sounds like you were doing, actually!

If so, why and for how long?
I think it was about three years? It was a good long while, and largely due to my living situation and upheaval in that situation. I moved away from the roommate who got me into this stuff, and in with a couple of girls who got progressively crazier the longer I stayed around. They'd go nuts over any project that wasn't completed in a single day (which are exactly zero of my doll projects), and one was afraid of dolls, so shortly after I moved in, they all ended up tucked away and not really getting played with very much anymore. When those two kicked me out, I ended up living in one small room with some friends, and my dolls carefully boxed up in a safe spot away from their dogs in the basement. Even on a break, I was still really glad to get them unboxed a couple of months later when I got my new place, but with all the re-settling from moving to a new city, they still sat for over a year before I started getting back into things!

If you've been gone for a number of years like I have, do you find it intimidating to catch up on all the new companies and sculpts?
Not too bad. There's still been some moments of "Wow, why haven't I seen this company yet? " or wishing I hadn't missed a couple of limiteds or events, but there's no changing that, and catching up will come with time, so I'm not too worried about it, really.

 

Na, I don't think I can I have times where I don't spend time on them, but I'm still on the forum every day. It would be nice to take a break I bet, a day without dolly thoughts!

 

I took a rather long break for several years and it wasn't until just a couple months ago when my friend wanted me to do some faceups for her dolls that I got back into it and hot damn! Do I ever miss my lovely dolls!

 

I have taken a few breaks, mainly because I didn't have the right dolls for me, but now I've discovered minifees I don't think I'll ever take a break again.

 

Yes, when I got divorced I had to sell all but 1 of my dolls. Then last year my car broke down and I had to sell the last one. Now that I'm more financially stable and am with someone who actually likes my dolls and encourages my hobbies, I'm able to be in the hobby again. I did re-purchase one sculpt because I loved her so much, but for the most part I'm starting a new collection. I admit that my BJD hobby comes in waves and sometimes my dolls end up sitting untouched for a few weeks at a time.

 

I took a 3 year break for my studies at university, I thought my hobby might be one of the fads that I went through, but it really wasn't true. I would look online every now and then but deemed it too risky as I would be tempted to buy something!
Once I graduated and enough money to be getting by I started fixing up my dolls aesthetics I had never been able to afford before....and then before I knew it I had a zaoll luv on her way to me!
But it was very scary to see all the new companies, I would just go through the gallery and any doll I liked I would research the company they came from. I was also heart broken to see all the discontinued dolls I wanted we're gone, and to discover that CP left Luts, I know some are available but I hoped Chiwoo would still be available in SD

 

I went back to college so I've been in and out for the past four years, mainly out. The problem is that I can't be active in the hobby without spending money, every time I take a doll off the shelf I start thinking it needs new clothes or wig or eyes ^^; I've even been thinking since getting back into it this summer that I need a new camera. So since I've yet to find a permanent job, I end up avoiding playing with them! Hopefully I'll get one soon now I've graduated v_v

 

Oh yes, definitely! I take breaks all the time, but I have never considered myself "out" of the hobby - just on hiatus for a bit. I usually have one dominant hobby at a time and the rest go on the backburner for a few months until I get interested again. Everything always comes full circle though!

And yes, it's always daunting to come back and find a new slew of companies, sculpts, and members here, but that's part of what keeps it so interesting! I particularly love seeing how trends change.

 

I think the biggest thing I've noticed since coming back this time is all the talk of recasts, did anyone else find that? I see it mentioned in a lot of sigs, people asking for authenticity papers more in sales, and a lot of people debating it on tumblr. I was shocked at the number of people on there trying to justify buying recasts, like, if you can't afford a doll then you can't afford it, end of story! There are plenty of dolls I can't afford to buy, you either save if you can or deal with the fact that you'll never have it : /

 

Im constantly on breaks. lol Its mostly due to lack of free time and Im usually exhausted when I get home from work.

 

I wouldn't call what I have, "breaks".
Sometimes there are days in which I don't pick anyone up, or change something about someone, but that's just because I have a life outside of dolls. I still enjoy looking at them, and thinking about them throughout my day, though. :3 They are all very dear to me, and know I love them with the passing days~

 

I haven't gotten on a break yet but as soon as the dolls i've ordered arrive I'll be going on a small buying new dolls break? xD if that counts. Of course I'll still be in the community and I will still be photographing my dolls, completing the ones I have at home by buying bits and pieces and such, so I don't quite think so... but I won't be listening to dolly news or bothering with new releases much if at all during my 'downtime' period.

 

I've taken long breaks from DoA from time to time for one reason or another, and kept many of my dolls packed away from time to time. I've always collected other dolls besides ABJDs though, so I'm usually enjoying some doll, or several, at any given moment. I mainly focus on one company so it's not as overwhelming trying to keep current on their offerings, but I do miss things now and then. I'm less active on DoA than I was years ago, and don't get to go to meets very often, but I do still enjoy my dolls and many of the people I've met through the hobby. In hindsight, taking a break now and then, whether by choice or due to technical difficulties, has actually helped it all stay fun for me.

 

So recently I did just this! I left the hobby and had a two year hiatus, but just recently I decided to buy a whole bunch of new clothes for my dollies and get back into bjd. But this got me wondering if it had happened to anyone else.

So my questions are:

Have you ever left the hobby for any reason? And if you're comfortable talking about it, why?
Alternatively: Do you think there's anything that could get you to leave the hobby at all?

If you're comfortable talking about it, why did you come back?

For me, I left the hobby because I felt I was running out of space and I wasn't happy with the way my buying habits were taking priority over everything else in my life. I've since reassessed and gotten help for these problems (in particular the second one) and have armed myself with a more critical and discerning eye. I think it was a necessary step for me to take at that point in my life, and now that I have more finanical and emotional stability I think I can comfortably re-enter the hobby without it becoming an all consuming thing again.

I think for me, I needed time out to figure myself out and not latch onto an all-consuming love of one particular thing. Now my hobby is fun and not self-destructive in the way it was before.