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

It's good to see that a lot of people have at least one person who's supportive/tolerant of the hobby on here

As for me, my parents and sister are...interesting when it comes to the dolls I collect. I've been collecting and customizing Pullip & co. dolls since around 2005-06, so that helped create a bit of a buffer when I got more into BJDs.

My mom's always been at least supportive, although can sometimes be a bit critical with the price-tag. Knowing this a passion of mine, and---being an artist---that it allows my creativity to thrive and my artistic abilities to grow, she's been supportive of it for that. My dad's also pretty laid-back about it (although he has a stronger opinion on the price-tag), but I had to explain to him that my dolls are going to be representations/models for characters I'm developing for a graphic novel I eventually plan to write/illustrate (which, actually, is a valid excuse, as that's what I plan to do with most of the dolls I'm getting[with a few exceptions]).

My sister used to be extremely critical with me about collecting dolls 7 years ago or so, but, once she learned that a lot of (adult) people are passionate about anime (she had a negative opinion about that at first), and how much they mean to me creatively (and also help boost my self-esteem, especially with art, as I deal with depression/anxiety issues), she became more accepting of my hobby. It's still not as easy to talk to her about it as it is with my mom (or even, to some extension, my dad), but at least she's better about it now.

As for friends and people I've associated with, I've gotten a mix of reactions, but thankfully nothing downright negative. I'm working on a Graphic Design degree, so working with artsy stuff like dolls just comes with the territory. I even used my boy, Tahmos, in one of my digital art class projects a couple semesters back, and the only negative (if you can even call it that) I received was that his neck was unusually long in the photo (he was on the RS 70cm body at the time, and their necks are pretty long, admittedly). I've had friends that liked them, people that even wanted me to do a custom Pullip for them, and decent feedback overall.

 

My sister is very supportive of my hobby; she's the person IRL who I talk the most with about BJDs. She doesn't have one of her own but thinks they're interesting and I'm constantly trying to convince her to get one, haha. She's an artist and even expressed in interest in drawing my dollies before ("good practice for still life") which makes me so happy.

My brother-in-law is a little weirded out, I think, but not in a bad way. He plays Magic so he knows all about having an expensive and dorky hobby, and since my boys are Ringdolls, he's quite entranced by the heli-weenie. In fact if I bring up BJDs that's all he'll want to talk about. =_=

I was actually determined to hide my hobby from my parents because I was sure they wouldn't understand, but they found out anyway and are...a lot more chill with it than I thought? They think it's a bit strange but didn't even seem that bothered by the price tag. I think they're just happy it's a sign I'm an independent adult who makes my own disposable income? Hell, I even got all my photography supplies from my mom, so...well, it was nice not having to pay for a good camera and tripod, haha.

 

I'm a painter and I do a lot of craft stuff too and everyone knows it. So when I started doing faceups on dolls and collecting, my family thought it was super cool and didn't even question why I would be interested in doing it. Everyone supports me and that makes it easier to talk about dolls with them.

 

I think my extended family is shocked by the price. Otherwise, I really don't hear about it.

 

they are hoping me to resell them out asap orz

 

I've talked a lot about how my parents react to my doll hobby, but not much about my siblings.

My brother was creeped out by my resin dolls, but when I got Ingrid (who is an Obitsu with an anime-style head) he said she was "awesome", and he has stopped by my room twice to admire her. It makes me wonder if he is curious about getting a doll himself, which would make me happy beyond words. My brother means the world to me, so it would mean everything if he shared my hobby with me. Of course, I don't mind if he just wants to admire my own dolls. He is a college student after all, and we all know how hard it is to save money when you're in college.

 

My family is just my two daughters, they both hate dolls.
One is fully creeped out by them, they scare her. The other just thinks they're stupid. Neither one of them know how much they cost.

I don't really care that they don't like them, but as stupid as it sounds I worry what will happen to them (the dolls) when I die.

 

My parents aren't interested in the dolls by any means. They paid for my first two dolls and they obviously weren't happy about the price. But they have nothing against the hobby

 

This is the topic that I would yet have to find out...with my first BJD coming on the way, I'm really curious how my family would react. But I've been known to keep things to myself, so I guess my family wouldn't bother me much on any of my new hobbies or interests.

 

I live with my parents at the moment and I must admit that my mother in particular thought bjds were creepy at first :P My father just kept on telling me how they weren't worth the price :/ But I saved my money and bought my own doll and you know what? six months later my mother has stopped referring to my boy as "it" and has started calling him by name XD I can even show her sculpts and get her opinions on them (and the opinion is not always "that's creepy", which is a plus for sure).

 

Do they even know about your dolls? Are they supportive? My family accepts my doll but they don't quite understand the hobby and I can tell they think I'm weird for liking dolls at my age. I am curious though, how does your family feel about your bjds?

 

My mom doesn't mind my dolls too much, but she thinks they're too expensive. On the flip side, she actually likes to spazz over cute doll shoes with me. Dad doesn't care, and my brother doesn't, either. So, they're neither supportive nor unsupportive.

 

My family knows. They think is childish and ridiculous. A quote from my mother: "It's stupid to pay so much for a doll. You do not have the money to be buying stupid stuff."

I never did get much support from my family in any of my endeavors. But, I can't help what I like! Besides, I spend money on dolls instead of things like new phones, tvs, etc. Hell, I refuse to buy myself a $20 pair of jeans but will do so for one of my BJDs....LMAO!

 

Oh I'm sorry. I feel you on the paying a lot for bjd stuff. I spend more on my boy than I do for myself sometimes. I'm about to get another doll and I'm worried about the comments I'll get on the price. Either way it's my money and how I spend it is my business though.

My dad is more interested than my mom but they both think the dolls are too expensive.

 

My parents don't understand this hobby but their attitudes are kinda nevermind because I live on my own.
My hubby appreciates this hobby, he knows that this makes me happy and he supports it. But sometimes he playfully teases me and calls me a crazy doll-lady.

 

Haha that's cute! It's nice to have supporters of the hobby in your everyday life. My friend let's me rant about my doll to him and is genuinely interested when I talk about him!

 

Ooh, that must be nice! It would be awesome to have a friend who's interested in dolly-stuff.

 

He doesn't have any dolls of his own but it is very nice to have someone who actually listens to my dolly rants haha!

 

My mom and siblings do not like my dolls at all, they think my dolls will come to life and kill us in our sleep. My dad on the other hand is pretty sportive and finds them to be interesting.

 

Dad- doesn't really mind because I've had dolls since I was a kid. Asks about how I pose them and about the clothes I sew for them from time to time BUT he doesn't know how much they are. Siblings- never asked about it. But are amazed at the amount of effort (and money) we all put on our dolls