How many can you love at the same time??

I've heard of people with so many dolls and this is the question that bothers me the most. How could they possibly love all those dolls? Because to me, I could probably only handle one, maybe two, but some people have like 50! It's insane, to me, but also inspirational :P

 

When I first got into the hobby, I had two dolls and then I bought two more heads, but sold them before I got them bodies because the idea of 4 dolls was just too much! Now, I have 12, and I don´t feel overwhelmed at all, I adore all of them. But I don´t feel I *have* to give them attention all the time and that I'm obligated to do something with them all the time. They're dolls and they're there for my enjoyment, not as an obligation. Sometimes, I just like their presence even if I don't touch one for weeks, I like just looking at them. They're not alive, like my pets who really do need my attention and love every day, the dolls will still be there if I don't have time for them for a while. I think it's something that changes when you're in the hobby longer, or at least it was for me!

 

To me there is no number that is too many. I think someone like Candy Spelling and with the doll collection she had probably did not bond with that many of her dolls. I saw the Anne Rice collection before it was sold and she had so many dolls they did not fit in her large home and had to be kept at another property she owned. I remember when I saw them thinking if you are someone who can have whatever you want and it comes so easily, do you really appreciate them?

As I am like most of us I am sure and do not have unlimited resources for dolls, picking and getting a BJD especially is a very conscious decision. And because of that each is very special to me.

 

I have too many for my space and...just too many. I still have a lot, comparatively speaking, that I can never let go. That's like over 35 including the small ones. So I need to start being more selective.

 

As many as I can fit in the house! Heh heh. I never set a limit on my collection...which is probably how I ended up with so many dolls! I'll have 17 when the newest one comes in. And there are still other characters I'd love to shell. I don't feel like that's too many dolls but display/storage is becoming a bit of an issue more than anything else.

 

...the only time I really feel like any doll is neglected is if I haven't changed their outfit in a while or if they've tipped over a bit and I apparently haven't noticed because I've been busy with other things (whoops). And even though I understand they're only resin (or whatever other material they're made of) it makes me feel a lot better if I take them off the shelf or dresser and spiff them up a bit. But basically the number of dolls doesn't really play a factor in this, the more the merrier I guess? They make my space feel lived in. =)

 

I have 12 full dolls and 5 heads that share those bodies, I don't feel the need to have all of them around all the time. I love them all, but I am more fond of my Ringdoll Sol twins and my Dollshe Saints. Don't think I will be getting more bodies unless I find one I can't refuse. So I make clothes and costumes.

 

I'm primarily a collector, so I interact a little differently with my dolls than many of you guys do. While I like my crew a lot and value them all very highly, I tend to see them as art objects or interesting toys rather than as little resin BFFs in need of constant love and attention. (I save that kind of thing for my birds and my cat- ) So, I've never had an issue with how many I could tinker with in a day, or how many I could form emotional attachments to. I simply don't feel that it's necessary to pay attention to each of them constantly, or to have any sort of "bond" with them. My limitations are space and how much money I'm willing to sink into the collection, not affection.

So, given that, I suppose my best answer to the OP's question would be "All of them".

 

I love all of mine very much, including most of my floating heads. They are all loved in different ways, and certainly differently than how I love my son or my family or my friends. There are some that I prefer doing certain things with--I like knitting for some of them more than others, I prefer sewing for others still, some are a joy to photograph, some are small enough to ride around in a bag with me, and some I just enjoy playing with all day long.

 

I love ALL my dolls, I do have favorites but that's because he is the first doll and made me company for so many years all by himself so I feel very attached but in the end they're all important and equal to me and by "all" I mean my BJDs, my Isuls and my obitsu/azone dolls which in total is a lot....more than 20...X.x

 

I have 27, and while I like them all, I definitely don't love them equally. I have about 3 favorites, then another 3 after them that I just adore and don't even want to consider parting with....then a few others that I don't want to sell, but I don't do a lot with them....then the rest, whom I like and enjoy but would be the first to go if I were forced to sell (and while I might be slightly sad, I would get over it fairly easy.) Anything over 30 and I start feeling overwhelmed, like I want to sell them as fast as possible.

So I guess my limit to really LOVE them is 6, but to like them is maybe 30?

 

LOTS!!! I have 40 dolls and love them all! Well, actually there's two I haven't really bonded with, but I don't get rid of my dolls very easily, so I'm giving them all the time they need. I figure I just haven't found their look yet.

 

CloakedSchemer brought up the love/like thing and that made me wonder.
I like all the dolls in my crew, but I love love love only 2-3 dolls. So I guess it's a personal matter and one has to decide that for him/herself. Love has no limits

 

It's hard to say for me... I'm struggling with this right now, actually as I recently fell in love with the Model Delfs from Luts, and it's made me reconsider all my doll plans like crazy. I'm a very slow collector when it comes to the dolls themselves, so thinking about having to plan around MORE dolls after the dolls I've already had on my wishlist for five years since I started the hobby is a headache, haha.

Agh, and I have this neurotic thing where I can't just buy one doll from a company/line of dolls because I like it. I'm all about this idea of a mix of balance and variety when planning a group, so to me, if I buy one of these Model Delfs, I'll need to get at least four, probably six. But that number almost doubles my list of planned dolls, and that is really killing me. The eight or nine dolls in my original plans already seemed like they were pushing it, and the five dolls I have now (two of them tinies) already makes me feel like I'm neglectful of their 'dolly needs'.

I know logically they're just my toys and don't need attention, but I also feel sentimental towards them as loved beautiful objects that physically resemble people and have names and 'possessions' of their own. So if my doll's face paint is chipping and dirty because I haven't made time to repaint them in ages, or a doll has few things to wear and I haven't gotten them anything in ages, I feel bad for neglecting them. There's also that back-of-my-mind feeling that, since I paid so much for them, I should be properly enjoying and caring for them, haha. Considering the current pace at which I make time for their beauty care, photography or other hobbies, and my doll shopping habits, I can tell it would be a really, really long time before I had all the dolls I'd want and all of them to be at a level where I'd be satisfied (proper wigs, eyes, clothes, etc.). Maybe a decade? More? The idea of a never-ending project makes me feel tired rather than excited.

I think while my personal number would never be too high, like definitely anything above 20, some part of this also depends on the dolls I already currently have and their progress. Each doll is their own little financial and time investment to get them to an satisfactory level, and until then they're at varying amounts of WIP. If I have dolls that still need lots more attention and stuff before I can really enjoy them, adding more blank dolls and their attached required investments will start getting stressful than anything, even if it were only four or five dolls. But if I had, say, eight dolls and they almost all already had permanent eyes, great wigs to choose from, and a solid wardrobe? At that point they're stress- and obligation-free dolls, so maybe starting anew and adding four or six dolls to my wishlist wouldn't be a big deal!

I realized I'll also always have favorites and dolls I love much more than others. My first doll will always be my absolute favorite by a long shot, for example. My two tinies and the gift doll will likely always be my least favorite by a lot, because of how and why I got them, though I still like them alright. I would really like to keep my collection as small as I can stand so I can give each doll the attention I want to give. I think a number less than 10 is ideal for me for now, and I hope I can work out my doll plans to stay within my limits!

ali

 

I love all my dolls, but I find that I focus all my attention on one, maybe two, dolls at a time and kind of ignore the rest. But it doesn't mean I don't love the others any less.

 

This is a really good question! I love my dolls, but as others have said its not the same sort of love I have for friends, family and pets.
But it is decidedly more than any affection I have towards my other possessions.
These dolls are such customizable, personal pieces of art with incredibly wonderful expressive faces its hard not to get ridiculously attached to them!

I currently have 15 full dolls at home + 1 floating head, with 2 more on order. That will officially be the most I've ever had, my collection has grown by leaps and bounds these last two years.

I'm unsure of how I feel about it, sometimes I look at their faces and can't imagine parting with any of them. Sometimes I see a giant overwhelming pile of resin. I honestly like the idea of a small group (around 5-8) of really special dolls. But there's too many pretty ones T_T

I get overwhelmed sometimes not because I feel like I'm neglecting them or hurting their feelings, but its a lot to keep up with. That's a lot of bodies to clothe and shoe, lots of wigs and eyes that are needed etc.
Recently I've decided that I would love to get stands for them all so their clothes don't get wrinkled and stretched from sitting on a shelf, and when you add up $30 or so times 18 dolls... That's a lotta $$.

But I can't yet decide who would go (and it's not costing me anything to hold on to them) so I'll just wait it out and see what happens. I'll either decide who to move on as I see who gets the most attention, or I'll come to grips with the numbers as I manage to "finish" some of them off XD

 

Knowing myself, nothing over 1 or 2, because I play favorites I think it would be a waste to neglect a bjd.