How old were you when you got into the doll hobby?

I was eighteen, almost nineteen and I was just finishing high school. I took a year off before starting at uni, working and earning money - not just for dolls of course, that is quite a common practice in Finland.

There is absolutely, definitely no way I would have ever gotten a bjd from my parents - we weren't poor, but we definitely weren't rich either, and a super expensive doll was something that I wouldn't ever have imagined asking for. Lucky for me that I only got interested in bjds a few months before I started working, so the wait wasn't too bad.

 

I have been fond of dolls as long as I can remember. I learned to sew doll clothes when I was 6. My mother shamed me into quitting playing with them around the age of 11 or 12. I bought a couple of porcelain dolls in my twenties. I did not discover BJDs until I was 45. I was completely computer illiterate and making very little money at the time, so I had to learn to use a computer and get a better job before I could afford one. So I can really say BJDs have really changed my life for the better. I am 55 now.

 

I started collecting dolls after my children were grown and finished with college, but I started with OT dolls. MY first look at a real BJD, not a magazine picture, sold me on the gorgeous things. I think I was close to 60 then. It took a year to pick one and have her arrive. So say early 60s. I am 75 now.

 

I was 20 when I got into the hobby and am now 27.
Discovered dolls by googling around I think. Encountered a Fairyland doll, started digging online, discovered their site and fell in love with BJDs.

 

22, and 23 when I got my first home.
Stumbled upon them via a chat, at a long dead site called globee, where someone showed me pictures of Volks dolls and I was smitten. For the longest time I actually thought they were the only company out there until I found a local bjd forum.

 

I started admiring bjds online around age 20. I bought my first doll when I was 26. I've been hooked ever since

 

I always loved dolls since I was a little girl. Troll dolls, Betty Spaghetti, and Barbies were my first and favorite to play with. My mom got me a Cabbage Patch Kid but I didn't like it, they still creep me out. I got into the BJD hobby when I was about 16. I'm turning 28 soon.

 

I was only 15 when I first discovered BJDs, and 16 when I got my first doll. I was very fortunate to have parents who bought me my first doll as a 16th birthday present. That was 11 years ago!

 

I saw my first bjd when I was in the 6th grade (so around 11-ish years old?) -it was Cuarto’s Darkhorn, and I was so intrigued by them. But for the life of me I couldn’t remember what BJDs were called, so I searched for around two years.
I had rediscovered them around four years ago, and I got my first ever doll last year!

 

I started really liking bjd when I was 16 but I wasn't able to afford it! Just ordered a doll recently now I am 19. Having a job really helps!

 

I was 42. Okay, when I first saw BJD I was 41, but when my husband gave me my first doll, I was 42.

 

I was in highschool when I saw my first picture of an abjd, but didn't discover what they actually were till college and owned my very first in 2007 when I was 23. Now I'm in my mid 30's. :3

 

I became truly interested in BJDs when I was 20, but was 21 when I joined DOA and ordered my first.

 

Wow, I'm the old lady here! While I started collecting antique dolls when I was 32, it wasn't until I was in my forties that I discovered BJDs. They weren't widely known about then & not so easy to get but I starting searching & found a few US dealers who had begun to carry them. Plus the company sites began to be in English so I could order direct from them. I'm now in my sixties & still play with dolls.

 

I was 15 when I first got into BJDs. I spent most of the summer after my freshman year of high school grounded after getting poor grades (whoops ) with nothing but an ipod that I was allowed to watch videos and browse the internet with (the only thing I was not allowed to do was see/speak to any of my friends, even indirectly through social media. True torture for a teenage girl.). I knew about BJDs and had always been curious about them so I started to do my research. Eventually, when I was able to see one of my friends again, I found that she had been looking into BJDs over the summer too and was also planning to get one! Of course, we were children without jobs and ended up not being able to get the dolls we wanted then, but a real love for this hobby was planted in me. I forgot about dolls for most of high school after that, not being able to afford them and being told they were "weird" by other friends back then put a bit of a damper on my enthusiasm, but once I was graduated, working full-time, and away from the people who tried to make me feel bad about my interests at 18 I was back in! I'm about to turn 20 now and my crew, my crafting skills, and my love for the hobby have flourished in the past two years and I'm excited to see how they continue to grow in the years to come

 

Im new to the BJD world but i have been collecting other dolls since 2012 and customising them for about 2 yrs so cant wait to get my first bjd and start customising

 

I waaaaaas 19? I think! It was during my 2nd year of uni ^^

 

I saw a bjd for the first time at a convention when I was 30. As soon as I got home I started researching. Within a few months I had bought one. I got out of the hobby a couple of years ago because of financial problems. But hopefully I will be able to get one again.

 

I was 60 when I fell in love with Ringdoll Sol and BJDs. I didn't get one until 2 years later. I've been in the hobby since 2012. As you can see in my signature they have filled my life and my home.

 

I was around 10-12 years old when I first got into the hobby! Owned no big priced BJDs besides a Pullip! I'd always tell myself I should wait until I was 20+ since a lot of people in the hobby were. I got into the hobby due to my search for finding Rozen Maiden dolls!