How to find IRL doll friends?

I imagine it would come up in the normal course of conversation with people you meet, such as the ever popular question, "So what do you do for fun?" I got asked this a lot in college myself when meeting new people. I suppose if you are not exactly the social type and not meeting a ton of new people, you could always buy one of those "I BJDs" t-shirts that are floating around on the 'net and hope someone notices and approaches you while wearing it. Other than being social, it's kinda hard to know if someone's into BJDs.

 

What makes it hard though is finding people to be friends with as well as finding BJD people... I have told a few of my friends at college about my hobby and only one of them was even inclined to look at them. The other one thinks they are weird since he says all they do is sit around/they are kinda creepy. If it werent for the price tag I think he'd be a little more comfortable with the idea since he's a gamer and knows about collectible figurines etc. but when I told him I spent almost $500 on my doll and some stuff for her he was like "what did you go and do that for?". It was a little disappointing but I can understand people feeling this way as my mom and bf are somewhat similar when it comes to the $ and what I'm actually doing with them. I already alienate myself just talking about normal stuff half the time so yeah... lol.

But I do agree with you that talking to people is about the only way to find out if someone likes them or might be interested. My one friend who had never heard about them before was over the moon when I showed him Iple's website. Now he's pretty much obsessed with getting one like I was the first time I stumbled onto all the BJD company websites. lol. I'm really glad that I have at least one friend in RL that understands why I love them so much. I do have one other friend who loves BJDs too even though I've never met her in person ^^

Also Razzy, dont worry about accidentally posting in the wrong forum ^^ The mods will move it for you :] But yeah... I think your best bet is to just ask people what their hobbies are and maybe if they've ever collected dolls or perhaps if they like arts and crafts, etc. That will at least probably spark some interest if they are artistically inclined or if they own any dollies even if they arent bjds ^^

 

Gosh, I really wish I could answer this question, but I'd like to know the answer as well! x___x I liked hobbywhelmed answer of the bulletin board. If you have/carry a binder, maybe put a few photos of BJDs in the front clear section? But I think just asking people about their hobbies/ sharing yours, and seeing if it strikes anything. c:

 

The bulletain board idea sounds kind of perfect, actually. There are numerous bulletin boards all throughout my campus. I see different papers on there all the time! I'm not very social on campus, besides with my classmates (But then it's just about the work), I think I might make a poster for one of the bulletin boards Thanks for the idea! It's sad to know so few people in real life that like Bjd's. I'd really love to meet some people that actually go to my college and like/collect them.

 

I just converted my friends into BJD people... I found out a couple already knew about them, which was cool! My friend Tori saw me lugging Leah's Bobobie box around and asked, "hey, is that a ball-jointed doll?" What's fun is getting friends really into them and helping them buy their first dolls! I'm currently introducing another friend to the hobby and giving them some basic definitions and help on the forums.
It helps that a lot of my friends cosplay and do art... they understand the price-tag, since they have their own money sink hobbies. I've often helped friends with cosplay sewing; I've only seen a couple of human-sized things, but I know a lot about sewing from dolls! Face-ups get my 2D-artsy friends interested, and the general sculpting gets my 3D-artsy friends interested.

 

Wow, I've wondered this myself.
I'm not a social butterfly and I don't know a lot of people in the area. The few I do know are really turned off by "creepy dolls" which bums me out. ;A;
Since I take all my classes online, college friends are out the window, and like you, Razzy, my high school friends and I have fallen out of touch.
How does one manage to make friends with a similar love for bjds off the net?

 

I live in a big city so it wasn't very hard for me, right when I got my first boy I found a friend on another forum (gaiaonline *ahem*) who it so happened was into the hobby, and lived in my city! she invited me along to a meetup and the rest is history... I guess all I'm saying is, don't be afraid to talk about it! anyone who judges you for collecting dolls is out of their mind... who knows, even if someone doesn't know about them, they might fall in love, all because of you!!

 

I have no idea otherwise. ZolGrim, I'm still in high school, and I have no idea if online college is anything like online classes in high school, but there are usually ways to contact other people in the class. My online classes are within the school district, so we all live in the same general area, but I'm not sure if it's the same with online college.

 

Ah Tuna, I've started there too, though I don't think any of the doll friends I've made online live near me, heh.
I've been hanging around the BJD Discussion thread on Gaia, and have met a ton of wonderful, creative people. :3

Edit: jemlovecraft I do have ways to contact the people I take my classes with. But its all business there.
A lot of the people are twice my age or just aren't very friendly. Many of my classmates are from all over the country, so thats also a little difficult, heh

 

Honestly, all of the doll people I've known in real life I met because of the internet. Personally I wouldn't bring up my doll collection in real life unless I was already talking about a closely-linked hobby. Not because I'm ashamed, but because I just don't enjoy trying to explain 'weird' hobbies to other people. Many local doll meets now favour Facebook groups over forum threads, but the bigger groups will usually have a presence on one of the larger forums to attract new attendees, so it's just a case of looking around and seeing what you can find.

 

I've met quite a few other doll owners going to area anime conventions. If there's any in your area you might check the schedule for any kind of doll meets. That's actually what got me started into dolls, I went to a convention with a friend who is a doll owner and she invited me along to the minimeet.

 

Yeah... I often call them "art dolls" unless it makes sense in context, like what Selidor said. It's a good way to get the idea across without having to explain a lot or creep people out.

 

introduce your dolls to some cool, slightly (or very) nerdy people. I think crafty people and people looking for cool things to photograph would also be interested.

I agree with the "art doll" terminology at first. I simply act like a hipster who has found the next big thing! iIf people pick up you are embarrassed about a hobby or interest they tend to assume it is something to be embarrassed about and will give you a hard time.