How do you tell?

I dunno, i've never much been one for feeling ashamed so I tend to just blurt it out or it slips into the conversation at some point. If people are weirded out they're generally too polite to say anything. Ahh good ol' british people, far too polite to be rude most of the time.
the only negative reactions i've had have been from people who would nitpick everything I did anyway (nothing I could do was right in their eyes, so it didn't matter what I did or what I collected, it'd still be "wrong")

I think because I have a "whatever" attitude people are less likely to be jerks because when you act coy or ashamed, people latch onto that discomfort. When you're shameless I think they subconsciously realise they can't do jack to offend you about it. Thing is, i'm a big kid anyway. I collect toys, I write about them in a blog, I will quite happily join in the play in a soft play with the kids and I love toy stores more than my kids hahah. Life is way too short to worry about what people think and to pretend to be "grown up". Being grown up is hard and stinks anyway, a little "time to play" is proven to be good for our mental health.
Of course, I grew up being that weirdo so i'm kinda used to being weird. It doesn't much bother me. I will shamelessly colour in with crayons while my kids pretend they don't know me, i'll swing on swings in playgrounds, i'll geek out about barbie with 8 year olds. It's fiiiiine.
I'm a big kid and I refuse to grow up for anyone.
I can BE adult when I need to be, I just don't much want to all the time because gosh it's boring.

I've never bothered to hide my dolls. they're on full display and the postman and other tradespeople just smile and ask about them. Usually it's curiosity and faint bemusement above anything else. The subject of price doesn't often come up to be honest. Usually I just say "lots" and leave it at that haha.
the only time people tend to ask about cost is in relation to the collection as a whole, not individual items. "Wow this must all be worth a lot" they comment and I nod and say "yeup."

Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing. - Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr

I feel like if your friends judge you for what you love, they aren't the sort of people you should be keeping as friends.

 

I used to be pretty embarrassed about it, and I was intent on hiding it from my parents, who I was sure wouldn't accept it; they're extremely frugal Asian immigrants, after all. But then they found out about my dolls and were pretty blase about it, even when I told them the full cost (in fact they seem really happy I'm buying useless things for myself? As a sign I'm finally making my own disposable income lol). My mom especially is supportive, even giving me her old photography equipment (I am forever grateful that I didn't have to shell out any cash for a DSLR and nice tripod, believe me) and buying me a head recently! You go, Mom~

Anyway after I passed the hurdle of my parents I stopped caring. Family friends all know, my relatives in China know (though I'm under the impression that collecting BJDs isn't quiiiiite as fringe to them as it is in the West), my coworkers don't know but I don't tell them much about my private life, my roommate knows, and my friends all know because they're all weeaboos anyway.

 

LOL I'm certainly not shy about telling everybody about my dolls - or any of my other interests. I've never needed much encouragement to start yakking away LOL My cousins find my BJDs a refreshing sign that I may not be crazy, cause I'm a witch & major otaku nerd so dolls seem real safe to them right now HA!

 

Hmm... that's a bit of a tricky question... since everyone has a different situation. I would like to think that people would be positive about your hobby even if they don't know much about it. So... I guess the best thing I can say is be honest with what the possible reactions are namely that; they will either like the doll(s), they will dislike the doll(s), or they won't care about the doll(s). You know your co-workers and family the best so you can gauge how they will respond.
To that end, I would recommend starting small, like with your family and work your way out to include friends and then eventually the workplace if necessary. That way you can control the fallout a bit in that you know that your family will be the most accepting followed by your friends and then your co-workers.
Honestly, the biggest thing I'd be worried about is if the doll gets damaged or stolen while at work.

 

Dolls will only come up if the person spoken to, has been probed through conversation or interaction in general.

 

I don't try to hide it. I take my dolls out in public for pictures at parks and gardens, etc. Most of the reactions I get are either curious, compliments, or just stares. Positive encounters have outweighed the negative for me As far as bringing it up to people in conversation, it usually happens when I'm talking about something else. "I was sewing all day yesterday!" usually leads to "what did you make?" and then I explain it was doll clothes. Or "do you have an instagram?" is met with "yeah but it's 90% dolls so just be warned." I had a coworker follow my IG after getting that warning and the next day they said "I know you said you have a lot of dolls but that was still more than I expected." It's fine. I think the dolls come across as less weird than when I talk about my writing, believe it or not. It's one thing to have a human-looking object with a name that you dress up and take pictures of, but heaven forbid you talk about a character that's been inside your head for 12 years as if they were real Little do they know, I have dolls of some of the characters I talk about!

 

The only person I encountered who was miffed I collect dolls was an 8 year old. Like her, I've been through the stage of being young enough to think I'm too old to be doing things I enjoy. To her greeting, "You still play with dolls?" I said, "If you have to ask, the answer is yes."

If others think I'm off, they haven't said as much.