How relevant is it for you that others like your dolls?

Completely irrelevant.

Being an all-black wearing introverted Buddhist in a deeply southern, Christian-Conservative small town with a fiery hatred of football, camo and country music, I went through far too much in my teens to ever again care if someone dislikes or disapproves of something I care about. Other people not liking my future doll won't make it any less amazing to me. I see BJDs as a catalyst for creativity, and creativity is a wonderful, beautiful thing.

 

I kind of had a weird anxiety like this recently. I got my Magic Time Draculria last week and I did my first ever box opening post. For a whole day nobody commented on it. I felt sad because I really wanted to show people how cute she was and get people interested in Magic Time dolls. Eventually comments started to filter in and I felt like I'd won some sort of approval. I notice all the time that Iplehouse and Doll Chateau get loads of comments because they are popular doll makers.

I feel silly now because it doesn't matter what faceless DoA members think of my doll, I love her and that's what matters.

I really hope that people will just ignore negative comments and focus on what they enjoy instead of seeking the approval of other people.

 

Not at all. I seldom post pics. I have my dolls for me, not to show off. Also, I really feel that peer-pressure gets less when one matures, for an ancient dragon like me, why would i care what someone on the other side of the world thinks about my dolls?

 

Writing stories and taking photos aren't inherently social activities. I write and take photographs that I don't publish anywhere or share - they're for my enjoyment, not other people's.

I would say it's very unimportant to me. I enjoy sharing my plans more than I enjoy sharing the final results, because discussing a project (and getting input from others) helps motivate me to work on it. I don't feel a huge need to share finished works (whether that be photographs of my dolls, their mods, their props or the stories I write about them). I have no interest whatsoever in my dolls becoming celebrities. I always feel that very popular doll characters have lost some aspect of themselves in becoming popular. Characters I would otherwise find engaging feel hollow and somehow lifeless. I enjoy when other people like my characters, but I want a very bold line between how I enjoy my dolls and how other people enjoy them.

It would be too much well before people started feeling entitled and rude. Someone knowing more than a couple of my characters off the top of their head would be enough to make me raise my eyebrows. I think, for me, the level I would be comfortable with is people enjoying things I post. If it got to people actively seeking out my posts (whether by browsing old posts or looking for new ones), I'd consider that too much attention.

I agree with you on some points, but for different reasons. I'm not lazy at all with my dolls (I love making things for them, photographing them, and writing about them). I just consider most 'fan culture' to be rude, selfish and thoughtless, and have no interest in cultivating that. I could talk for hours about my dolls with someone who would talk about their own dolls to me, but I'd very quickly be turned off talking to someone who was solely interested in hearing about my dolls.

 

It does make me happy that my friends recognize my dolls as "my" dolls, but in the end I believe I have to be the one who is ultimately happy with my dolls.

 

So how important is it for you that others like your dolls? Does it relieve your anxiety in some way to know that you have BJDs that appeal to others and not just you? Is this relevant to your sense of belonging in the BJD community? Are you content being a fan of other BJDs or do you aspire to have your own BJDs become minor celebrities of their own?

It doesn't matter to me what others think of my dolls. If I post pictures, I'm not seeking approval or belonging, but to share with fellow BJD enthusiasts. I love to meet and befriend fellow BJD collectors, and one of the best ways to achieve that is be active in the community!

On the flip side, how much adoration is too much? Would you be creeped out by people who constantly profess they are fans and demand that you give them more stories, more photographs, more updates?

I guess I really haven't seen or experienced a "creepy" level of admiration, but stalking, harassing, or demanding behavior would all fall under the creepy factor for me.

 

I do enjoy it very much when people have positive comments for my dolls, but I also think that the driving force behind getting a doll shouldn't be how much other people will like it or compliment you; rather, how much you yourself like the doll. I feel sad when I see people go after a certain sculpt or a doll from a certain company just because they want acknowledgement from others. In the end these people don't bond with their doll, and end up selling the doll to buy a newer release, a more popular or a more limited doll. Anyway I think there is nothing wrong in wanting others to share in your love and pride for your doll.

 

Amazingly, how people feel about my dolls means nothing to me. Which is a stark contrast to how much I agonise about how people feel about other things. That said, I do love the attention they get.

 

Part of me wants people to know my dolls and their character's stories, but not really to the extent of being 'famous' or anything... I don't take as many pictures of them as I would like to, nor do I take them with me as many places as I'd like, but eventually I know I will. I just want to share them, not necessarily show them off... (Unless I did a major modification on them or am really proud of a faceup I did on one of them. Then I like to show off a lot!)

It doesn't hurt that people do tend to like my dolls in person, though obviously they're not the most 'popular' at the meets... It's okay. They don't need to be. They just need to be who they are to me, and they're good at that.

 

While I don't have a BJD yet (I'm saving), I wouldn't mind if people didn't like my dolls, you know everyone to their own. Hmmmm I think the fans would creep me out a bit

 

While I don't want everyone to dislike my dolls, I don't focus on making them suit anyone but me.

I'd be bummed if I couldn't go to meets without people sneering at my dolls (which has never happened to me)
But it wouldn't make me change them, I'd just stop going to meets if that happened.

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I wouldn't say that it is a priority of mine for others to like my dolls but I do like knowing they do if they do, but I mean if they don't like them then it isn't that big of a deal they are MY dolls not theirs and I don't expect everybody to like them because there are some dolls that people own that I myself are not fond of but they love. But even then I don't go around telling them that I do not like their doll.

 

I feel like they're so amazingly expensive that it's only important if you absolutely adore them, and not anyone else. I don't want to spend £300+ on a doll to please other people! I'd be more interested if people thought my face ups were good or my actual creative input was interesting or something like that. actually 'liking' the doll is immaterial to me