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How does your family react to the hobby ? - Part 2

Jul 3, 2016

    1. Thankfully, they're mainly indifferent but sometimes cracks jokes about the dolls coming alive/ being haunted
      But honestly if anything, I think they're more concerned about the hefty pricetag on these guys and whether I should be saving the funds for something else :'D
      Parents tend to think they look like pretty boys/girls... that's the it :sweat
       
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    2. I am definitely one of the lucky ones. Of my immediate family, all of my siblings are willing to listen to me blab on about dolls and things I want to make for or do with them. My mom and dad haven't really batted an eye at me collecting dolls (though my dad did say that the dolls with the big heads ((Blythe)) are weird looking) but all through my childhood both of them collected dolls of all kinds, mostly antique of vintage dolls, so they "get" my collecting and I think they are glad I'm excited about doing creative things again since I spent a few years pretty much in a slump.
      Now they both are cool with my dolls even knowing how expensive they are and don't mind Vish going with to all my doctor appts and are willing to hold him for me if needed when I have to get into or out of a wheelchair or onto an exam table or whatever. I'd love to some time get my mom a tiny or 1/6 scale, but I'd need to find just the right one for the right price so I don't know if it will happen.
       
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    3. My brother does not care. Not the mean kind of not caring, just focused elsewhere on other hobbies.
      Mom’s great. I don’t think she has any interest in buying one herself, but will ask me about my projects. She’s into knitting and does cross stitch, so she knows how much good quality supplies can cost. She also happens to knit socks, is very precise on matching up varigated yarns, and has no use for the scraps. So she lets me use her leftovers that already have lined up stripes for my doll sweaters.
      Dad likes making things, so he respects the cost and the design aspect. He’s not as involved as Mom, but he’s pretty good about the whole idea.
      Meanwhile Grandma tries to be supportive but is slightly alarmed by the eyes and frequent decapitations. I may or may not have once tried to show her that the eyes can be moved and accidentally rolled them back in Brielle’s head. Only the whites showed and it kind of creeped her out.
       
    4. Cracks my knuckles only a few family members know about it
      So my mom doesn't mind. Neither does my sister but I haven't truly shared the hobby with her. My mom only is concerned about the prices (which, same, fam).
      My grandma... lmao, she says that the devil is in them. That I need to get rid of them. Yet she has no problems with barbies? Anyway, I lied saying that I got rid of them all. And after her reaction, I do not tell anyone else about it.
       
    5. I got into BJDs as a teen so as such, most of my close family heard about it one way or another at that time. Now that I'm older, I occasionally get the "do you still have your dolls?" question. I give the short, simple answer ("yes of course, and a few more. I'm still collecting them."), and it usually ends there. I'm always happy to elaborate, but don't usually initiate it. Life goes on peacefully. My family is usually quite respectful, so it's totally fine.
       
    6. My family is aware of my dolls but they never ask what I'm up to in my hobby, so I guess they don't really care. If I bring up the topic to my sister she will listen, and is open to me showing pictures to her, but that is as far as that goes. Honestly, I don't really have anyone to talk about my hobby with, which is fine, that's why I'm here.
       
    7. Omg what?! The devil?? That's ridiculous omfg!! I am so sorry she reacted that way, that's so sad :( I think most people wouldn't react in such a way, though, so I hope someday you are able to talk about them again...

      For me, I am also pretty lucky. I was never into dolls as a kid, and ignored all the ones my mother bought me for plush and plastic animals, lol. So she's really happy I'm finally into dolls of some kind, and she thinks they're very pretty. My family already knows I am... somewhat eccentric, so they didn't bat an eye whatsoever.
      My boyfriend is a huge anime nerd, so he thinks anime-style dolls are really cool, and he will discuss dolls with me which is AWESOME for me, since I got into them long after we started dating. He's not as much of a fan of realistic dolls with "fish mouth" as he calls it, lol (puckered lips?) and my little sister wants dolls of her own after playing with mine some, so I got her one of the smaller obitsu's to start :3nodding:
      My boyfriend's family, on the other hand... they are unfortunately very close-minded people, so they have a tendency to laugh awkwardly at nearly all my hobbies. Eventually, though, his mother did come around to them, and says they are very beautiful.
       
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    8. My mom is fine with them. She often sees things that she thinks could be cute for them or fit them as a prop. She wants one herself but hasn't found a sculpt she likes. She wants one of her book character that she created so it has to be a specific kinda face xD
      I can't really say what the rest of my family thinks...most of them don't know I collect them or am even interested in them. I get the feeling they wouldn't care anyways xD
       
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    9. I tried telling my brother once before I joined a hobby and he laughed at me. It held me back from buying one for years. I brought it up to him awhile back ago and he was so confused on why he'd ever done that to me. My dad has only mentioned it in passing but I try to avoid talking about it with him because he probably wouldn't agree to the expenses lol
       
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    10. My family thinks my dolls are creepy. I think my family is creepy. Just kidding! :dance
      They actually don’t know how much my dolls cost. :sweat My mom saw me unboxed Ashford and she asked me why I buy these “things”. I told her it’s because I like them and they make me happy. She was like ok whatever floats your boat and walked out of the room. In the end, if it makes me happy then they’re fine.
       
    11. So, I was in late middle school/early high school when I first got interested. Nobody cared then because it was just another weird thing I liked.

      When I got into college and bought my first doll head, my Dad started to get upset about them. He didn't like how much they cost and that I was wasting money on them when I should be focused on paying off my student loans asap. With my first head, my mom defended me by saying I liked them for a long time and it was the first I ever spent money on them. If I were to spend a hundred or two once in a great while on myself that was okay. Once I even started spending money to get his face-up done, she stopped defending me, though she didn't mind them. By the time I ended up panic-buying my second doll's body, I had heard enough from my dad that I dropped the hobby for about 8 years. My sister doesn't understand the hobby, but she would play with my dolls a bit whenever I got them out.

      I told my husband (then he was my boyfriend) about them when we started talking about getting married about a year ago. He doesn't really understand the appeal of the dolls themselves, but he likes photography and photo editing and he is super supportive of them. He likes the idea of helping me take pictures to create backgrounds for my dolls (as we don't have space for a diorama) once I can start creating photostories.
       
    12. My mother was quite happy that I shared her love of dolls, and although she doesn't collect bjds, some of her collector friends do and she had no issues with it whatsoever. The rest of my family were used to my mother's extensive collecting, so they assumed that I had inherited it from her lol
       
    13. my mom is supportive, my dad is indifferent, my boyfriend is an enabler! My boyfriend's family doesn't know about them (and they haven't been in our apartment since we moved in because they haven't seen the shelves overflowing with dolls...), I would prefer to keep it that way as his mom is pretty judgy. It would definitely be a hot topic for her to talk about with all of their extended family...
       
    14. They hate it and wish I wasn’t involved in the hobby. They think it’s strange and too expensive, it’s definitely expensive but it’s so worth it. I love my dolls.