How does your family react to the hobby ?

Well, here is how they reacted:
Mom - "I knew you were going to buy one sooner or later, so I'm not surprised. What did it cost?" Of course I lied and told her half the worth of the doll, and that wasn't even an expensive doll! She was very shocked and told me to never mention anything about it near my dad.

Dad - "What I don't see doesn't exist and if I see it I won't be very happy with you."

Brother (19) - "Uhmm... Okay? (Doesnt care, he himself plays Pokemon and knows everything about every video game there is out in the world, aka a supernerd

Sister (17) - "That's cute, but nothing for me." She's a manga and anime nerd just as myself, guess who made her that way? :P Maybe I can get her to buy her own doll in the future ;P

Brother (15) - "Ew, creepy!! What did you pay for something like that?!?" Says the guy who spent a lot on money on LOL, using other family members mobile phones without permission and shocking them when the phone bill arrives??

Sister (6) - "OMG SHE IS SO PRETTY, CAN I PLAY WITH HER PRETTY PLEASE???" Me: No!! I hide Eliza in a very hard to reach place and find my sister searching through my room the next day. She doesn't find the doll since she is too short to reach Oh, and did I mention she draws with ink on her poor Barbies faces??

All in all I guess my familys reaction is okay and could be a lot worse, though I am really scared of my father finding out the real price of everything Then it would be hell, I tell ya... Oh, and if my 6-year old sister were to find the hiding place and ruin Eliza in any way, it would be hell as well!!

 

The topic name is probably deceiving but I couldn't think of another name, since it does concern family. Does anyone have any 'in the house' family members who know about BJD, were interested in them in a time and since they know your into the hobby, fusses at you to get only the cheaper ones and to only get new ones?

My mom used to be completely immersed into Bjds when she was younger apparently, but now, shes laughing at ghosts and all that superstitious stuff, but as soon as you suggest buying a used doll, she begins to flip out and get nervous, its kind of funny, so I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has family members who live with you who are like this, or just family members in general, and how you deal with their fussing.

 

My husband and my mom, both of them support me in this hobby. As for my hubby he like to collect figure too so not much different. While my mom help me on sawing outfit for them my hubby only make a funny face when I said I want to buy this such doll and it cost this ha3x but as long it's new he doesn't have any problem with it, if it second (not to offence anyone in here) he will try to scare me to the point I will just give up on buying second hand.

 

You could tell her you are going to clean it very carefully. Maybe suggest she give it a "cleansing" if that's what she is into. Some people believe that dolls have spirits and maybe she thinks you'll pick up an evil one or something?

In the end, if it's your money that you're spending then you can do with it what you like as long as it's legal (I'm a Mum with a teenage daughter that collects BJD's as well).

 

There are lots of other threads about BJDs and family members - just search the General Discussion forum for "parents" or "family". Here's one!

How I deal with fussing... I smile and ignore it, or say something positive to counter the negative. Thankfully my family is quite supportive. I live with my parents: my dad ignores my dolls, and my mom actually likes them and is helping me make clothes for them. In fact, she often asks me why I don't do so many photostories! My sister (who doesn't live with us) finds them freaky and creepy, but half of that is just her being dramatic. And my friends, not many of them know about my dolls -- but only my really good friends will know about them, and I know they'll support whatever I do.

 

my mom thought that this hobby takes a lot of money to enjoy. but she like my doll too. sometimes she gives me money to buy him 1 or 2 clothing.

 

I live with my husband and sister. They don't really influence my spending much, and my sister actually prefers secondhand dolls because she likes to rescue the unloved ones and shipping is usually faster and cheaper. My husband doesn't care as long as I'm using my money and getting what I really want.

My mom, however, seems to think they cost way too much and I should have stuck with making my own cloth dolls and painting them. I just don't tell her what most of them cost....she thought the $175 I spent on my first AoD was ungodly, I'm not even going to attempt to explain Soom to her. >.> But she doesn't control my finances, so she really has no say in the matter. She does like making them props sometimes, though.

 

Are you asking if other's family members are afraid of second hand dolls because of a possibility of it being a haunted item? Like a residual energy type haunting? That is an interesting question & am curious how this thread plays out. I do believe in there are things science can't explain but I had never entertained the idea before either.

 

enrgy isn't matter

 

My mother doesn't understand it at all! Luckily my grandfather thinks they are beautiful...but he doesn't fail to give me lectures. He believes I'm going to get scammed by these companies. So I had to show up plenty of YouTube reviews and DOA company reviews. I was first going to buy a Dollzone Tulip from MintOnCard because it was an American distributor (but then I found other companies.) Now he doesn't mind me working for him around the house to save up for my first doll. @___@ She's an Iplehouse nYID. My sister I've slowly pulled into the hobby, I might buy her one since she's in college and doesn't have the funds to save up.

 

Well, at the beginning of the year, I finally ordered my first head. My family knows that I've been interested in the hobby since last October, so I think they knew this was going to happen eventually. Actually, my parents seem mildly supportive/indifferent. They're both well aware of the cost, especially since I have to go through their paypal. But I explained to them that the dolls are an investment just as much as a creative outlet, so they're fine with it. (plus I laid out a detailed savings plan which helped convince them) I'm not sure what they'll think about the metro-ish character I plan to turn my boy into though. Hahah... yeah, we'll see about that.
Whenever I talk about anything BJD related, they'll politely listen, maybe ask a couple of questions, and move on. I think they see it as an extension of my love for Asian things and anime which they don't really understand but respect anyway. After reading all the horror stories of angry parents, I feel really blessed to have the parents I have

 

Wow, this is a really interesting idea and topic!
I own two pre-owned dolls, multiple pre-owned My Little Ponies (a haunted MLP would be kinda neat actually! x3 ) and I'm about to get a pre-owned doll next week. Somehow it doesn't feel like dolls that are as "new" as BJDs could carry spiritual residue of any kind. I find antique porcelain dolls much more likely to contain something like that.

I'm really not all that afraid of this kind of thing happening, although I do believe that sometimes objects can carry something supernatural in them. My family has always been into antiquities and sometimes you get the feel from a piece of furniture that there might be something of its past still lingering there... But only once I've sensed something malicious from an object.

 

LOL my family thinks I pared down on my collecting.They think it just encourages clutter. And in some ways it does because the dolls "need" the same things we do except for real food.

I have pared down in volume but not $$ wise. You can't get as many BJDS as the vinyl due to cost and space constraiints.

Jenny in WI

 

Say you absolutely love a doll, but your girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife was disgusted by it. How would that affect you?

I have a dollzone Star on the way, and my fiancé says she's hideous. Now I think he's halfway joking, but it still kind of offends me. My mom shares his opinion too, and while she's usually excited and supportive of my dolls, she always refers to the "ugly, scary one" on the way...and it's beginning to deter me. Now I'm afraid that when she gets here, I won't love her as much as I would without the negativity.

This ever happen to anyone else?

 

I dont physically have a bjd yet, but I do collect Living Dead Dolls and no one really understands my love for them. My mother has always been expecially critical of them but you really cant change yourself or your interests to please anyone else.

Its you that matters most, and if they cant except that about you, then it's their loss for not trying yo understand you.

 

He can suck it :P
He owns things I dislike, I own things he dislikes. If he dislikes it, he doesn't have to look at it.

 

If everyone in the world shared the same perception of beauty, then there would be a LOT more single people around. I think it's pretty unkind of them to say such things, but in the grand scheme of things, why should you care? The doll is yours, not theirs...and you should buy what you love, not what they love.

 

To each their own, but I think not liking dolls would run a close second to a guy not liking my Yokrie.. which would be an exbf !!!

While this BJD is rather different.. it's rather harsh for them to try & kill your happy joy buzz from your new doll.

 

My ex always hated my Notdoll Vampire Aletheia; but then he went out of his way to hate pretty much anything if I liked it. :-P
I loved her anyway. I'm not always 100% certain of my tastes, but on her account I was devoted.

I still have the doll (and for me that's saying something), but ditched the man. ^________^ Much happier now.

It's jerky of your bf and your mom to openly deride something you like. You may have to learn to agree to disagree. Maybe they'll grow to like your doll when they see it in person, but if not, be true to yourself. If you really like her, keep her! What's it to them, anyway?

 

It wouldn't change how I felt about the doll, I don't think my fiance would be rude about it... he'd make a comment and then leave it at that, he has stuff I don't like and I don't harp about it haha

The world would be boring if everyone was the same