I want to buy a doll, but...

I don't really do much with my dolls. It helps if you know how to sew or make props to keep yourself occupied. Attending anime conventions is also a good way to meet other BJD owners!

 

I don't think there's anything to feel guilty about. It really is OK to buy a doll that will 'just' be a display item. Do you get enjoyment from looking at your Puki? If you do, then it's money well spent. Not everyone takes photos, crafts, makes stories, and so forth. Some people buy dolls to put in a cabinet and look at. That's 100% legit. The doll doesn't care if it sits on a shelf all day long. It is a doll, after all

 

My dolls where always just little friends that sat around. I did try face ups, but I prefer painting a 2d canvas, and I used to take photos, but the past 9 years I've been too tired and busy to do much. I'm actually selling my older dolls now, but even with many years of them just siting they gave me a lot of joy. You don't need to do what everyone else dose, and I've known a few doll owners that really only buy them to put in a display cabinet. Every doll owner is different, don't feel guilty for enjoying them in your own way! : )

I plan on getting into photography for them again once I get my new dolls, but even if I wasn't, I love having dolls around. I'll mostly just have them sitting by me while I paint and work, but they make me happy, so it's not something I feel guilty for. If something makes you smile it's worth every penny!

 

If you enjoy seeing them sitting there on the end of the shelf, then go for it! Everyone collects in their own way. One thing you could try, if you want to be more interactive, is to get them a few props or bits of furniture, so you can change up what they're doing.

 

Well, 4 years ago I bought Lorina, and at that moment, I thought it would be my last doll. Last year, I bought Lieselotte, then I thought it must be my last one since I could not be interested in any doll for a long time...But this year, I got my new doll - Soo, and I decided to buy two sisters for her in next year - Ginger and Lamb. So you never know if you will still like other dolls until you meet them. I mean, although you leave them alone, you feel you almost lost the hobby of dolls, you may return back in some days.

 

It's possible a larger doll such as an SD might be more played with. Hard to know till you give it a try! I find tiny ones tend to be over looked by me.

 

It's 100% okay to not do a lot with your dolls. For myself, I often find that I just don't have the time. Everyday real life/family responsibilities always come before hobbies for me, and then when I do have free time, dolls are not my only interest so they have to take their turn in the rotation. I will go thru periods where I want to do other things with my free time and don't do anything with the dolls for months, and then I'll have times where I feel super inspired to work on doll projects and want to use all my free time on them. The dolls are here for my enjoyment, so I enjoy them when I feel like it. Pressuring myself to do things with them if I'm not feeling it would just make them a pain in my ass. They don't know the difference between sitting on a shelf and being played with. It's nice to know they're there when I want them... they can wait when I don't.

 

For me, how I enjoy my dolls tends to differ. Some I handle almost daily and others sit on the shelf for months or longer, because they're just beautiful. From time to time I feel a bit guilty about the amount of attention some get over all the others, but when I consider selling them, I can't bring myself because I do love those dolls just as much as the ones that get handled all the time. It's just a different kind of enjoyment, but that doesn't make it any less real or just. If you love that doll, just get her

 

My doll sits on my desk where I do all my artwork, she really helps me keep being motivated. I've made a few outfits for her but I have a similar issue where it is hard to get supplies for face ups and wig making. I feel like if you really want the doll you should get her, even if you don't play with her much it's not a bad thing.

 

Go for it! If you get her with a face up, it may be easier to have fun with her from the start, I know it takes me a while to bond with a doll until they get a face up. My dolls also spend a lot of time just sitting around looking pretty, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that! They're 3D art after all

 

The great thing about dolls is that they are pieces of resin--they're not pets or children, and it's perfectly acceptable to keep them as an art display. You don't have to play with them or constantly buy them new things. If you end up buying her and just keeping her on a shelf, that's fine!

If you want to do something with her, there are plenty of things you can do that cost very little or are even free. If you're into character development and stories, you could write a novel about her, roleplay her, make photostories, create a gaming character based on her. If you just enjoy the visual aspects, you could take photos of her and share them in the gallery, or on Instagram, FaceBook groups, Tumblr or Flickr. If you're into crafty stuff but feel faceups are too advanced or expensive, you could learn to make clothes or jewelry for her, or create tiny props and dioramas.

There are plenty of ways to enjoy the hobby, there isn't one single 'right' way.

 

We have a local BJD group that runs meets every couple of months so my girls always get to go out :3

 

I don't do anything with my dolls really - although the sewing project on DoA motivates me to at least blow the dust off one of them! I had nearly 30 dolls a year or so ago - sold them all except for 2 - now guess what I'm looking at buying LOL - just written a wishlist totalling a ludicrous amount - if only I'd bought them before the exchange rate crashed after the EU referendum in June - it's put about £100 on the price of a bigger doll So yeah.... I'm no help at all

 

Oh, I'm so glad you bought her - hope she arrives safely. One thing you could do with her is write a story about her. It doesn't have to be too in-depth, just a little background. I am not much of a writer but I did create a family tree for my dolls, explaining their relations to the others. Somehow this seemed to help me bond with them! The main thing though is to just enjoy her!

One other thing I was going to say is that you should look at Nubanded on etsy - they have adorable clothes for tinies and are very affordable. They also have some MSD clothes. They are located in Thailand so not too far from you.

 

90% of the time right now, my dolls just sit and look pretty. Honestly, I'm okay with that; I get plenty of enjoyment just looking at them.

 

I was in fashion doll and porcelain doll collecting for years, and you simply cannot "play" with the collectors' editions. Some of mine are displayed in their boxes.

When I got into BJDs I've been making lots of clothing for them, but mostly they are still just displayed for my private pleasure. I don't have a good place to take photographs, and at 66 I would be ridiculously out of place at a doll meet, even if I had time for them, which I don't.