is having RL doll friends important to you?

Yes. It just makes the hobby so much more fun. I have three loves; music, soccer (football) and dolls. It helps to have real people who share that with you. I am so, so lucky to live in SoCal where there are several large doll communities that overlap. Plus my older sister is also a BJD and off-topic doll collector so that's all kinds of awesome for me. I'm really sorry, queen_margaret_anne that you haven't found any doll-peeps near you and hope that you do. Perhaps you could start a meetup thread in your area and see who responds?

Edit: I see you are in Texas...I know of quite a few blythe collectors down there and I bought my first Hound from a doll shop in Texas at a doll shop callled Treasure Dolls so I know there must be some BJD collectors down there. Best of luck finding them!

 

I wish I had RL friends that were into dolls, it would be so much more fun talking to someone face to face that actually understands the rabble leaking out of my mouth. XD

I live in Texas too! But I'm quite a bit far from Stephenville. D:

 

It is but it isn't for me. I really don't have many rl friends so it's neat that I was able to meet and make friends with a few bjd owners in my area. We don't really talk about our dolls a lot but they do come up off and on and I even have one of theirs dolls as my wallpaper on my cell that I played with in photoshop. =X

 

Yes and no. I selected no because I currently don't really have any RL doll friends that I see with any frequency so it's basically like I am alone in the hobby but I don't enjoy it any less. I really, genuinely enjoy the people I talk to regularly on DoA and I don't feel like I lose anything by not talking to them in person. Plus, the real life aspect can always introduce you to awkward situations such as someone who is VERY serious about not wanting their dolls touched or held by ANYONE else and that might make me feel uncomfortable if I asked to hold it and they just flat-out said no - it would probably lead to an awkward silence, lol. I just love my dolls and then I have real-life friends who are not into dolls. This is a fine hobby to be alone in for me.

 

I love my RL doll friends! They're amazing and it's great to get all our dolls together to hang out with us!

 

I would probably just quietly make stories on my own if I didn't have friends involved. But I am glad that my friends/family are involved, because that makes it more fun, as it can be shared. (...Also because since we all have dolls, there are more dolls for me to play with.)

 

Oh, queen_margaret_Anne! I am feeling the SAME WAY right now! If we lived in the same area I would be your dolly friend in a heartbeat! I am terribly lonely with this hobby. I drag my husband over the computer to see my latest dolly craze or get his opinion on something...but it's not the same! He doesn't care about dolls, just humors me. When I was a cosplayer, my cosplay friends became my BEST friends, and I truly miss that camaraderie! They are mildly interested when I post pictures of my dolls, but they are still busy with their cosplays and not at all interested in the money it takes to enter this hobby. Arg!

...Maybe DoA could use a "personals" section?

"Lonely young female seeks other lonely young females to play dollies with."

Er... though I guess that's what the meetups sections are for.

 

I really enjoy having doll friends, I try to go to the monthly meet-ups we have in my area (there are ones a little further away I would also like to try going to). But it's nice to be able to sit down with people who share a common interest, infact one of my best friends is also a doll collector, so even if I can't make it to meet-ups, I still have her to hang out with.

It doesn't matter the hobby, but the fact is it is always nice to have people to share it with. I'm glad most of my friends and family are at least supportive of my weird hobbies, because I can at least talk to them about stuff a little, and my extended family asks questions when I pop up with stuff.

If you can't find any doll enthusiasts in your area (keep looking, they might be there someone unless you live in a very rural place) I hope you can find someone who is at least supportive and lets you chat about the dolls sometime. For example, most of my older friends (friends I've had for years, not older in age) aren't into my dolls, but they ask about them, because some of them represent characters I created around the time I met them (almost ten years ago...)

I wish I could sit down and chat dollies with you, but unfortunately, I could only be an internet buddy ^^' (I live in Maryland and all...)

 

I'm another SoCal person, and having a few dollie friends is really awesome. I always enjoy the meets, and talking to someone who has different dollie experiences is always interesting and enlightening! Plus your not just meeting the other owner, half the time- most dolls have backstories and personalities, so if your into dollie interaction and photostories and whatnot it's like meeting several new people! Not in a creepy way, though, lol. XDD

In short, I really love having RL dollie friends. ^^

 

I do really enjoy having dolly friends. Of course my hubby is my best dolly friend but I have others. It isn't critical to my collecting but I have definitely enjoyed being able to get together with friends and work on dolls ect. It has also been wonderful for me when I attend conventions having people I know there really relieves some of my anxiety (I have social anxiety problems). Just knowing that I know more than one person in several thousand at a con is nice.

There is a very active dolly group in DFW but I guess that is a bit of a drive for you. I think the closest our meets usually get to you is Fort Worth.

 

I think it would be really fun to have more doll friends, I only have one ATM. >3<
But it's always cool to have RL friends who like to do what you do. That's one huge reason I was so psyched about art school.. I finally got art friends! Now all I need is camping/hiking friends. D: There's not a lot of overlap between art/doll people and outdoors people. XDDD;;;
But yeah, IRL buddies add a whole new dimension to any activity.
Maybe I'll be able to find some at the next anime con..

 

Aww..Anneke! I'm in SoCal; not so far from SF. I know there is a big doll community out there; there's Tingeisha who has a lot of BJD tinies! Just check the meetup threads! If you ever come down south let us know! Actually, any of you do that; there are a lot of cool meetup places here.

 

I actually had to miss out on the first BJD meetup in San Francisco since I joined the boards because my wedding was the same weekend--now I'm missing the Golden Gate Park meetup because I'm going on my honeymoon the same weekend!

I hope that sooner or later I'll be able to go to a SF meetup and make lots of new friends!

For now I'm just bummed none of my current friends want anything to do with BJDs

Baffling!!

 

It is important to me but yet I don't have any. I selected yes because I would absolutely love to have a friend that's in my area and interested in dolls as I am. Some of my friends hate that I have bjds, a few are intrigued but don't want in it...I'd really like to have someone I could talk to about thoughts on dolls and things like that that's actually around me. I'm in middle of nowhere WV and I don't know anyone at all even in the area that has a bjd other than me.

 

I really enjoy the social face to face aspect of the hobby and am lucky to live in an area where there are other bjd folks. Even if I didn't have this, I would still love my dolls and the hobby, but I do find that being able to share it with other people enhances things.

 

I don't have any doll friends, and believe it or not- I'm indifferent to being indifferent ;3;
Having doll friends would actually be really cool, though. Currently I just have friends who are interested in dolls, and their interest was only influenced by my boys xD
I think it'd make the hobby more fun for me, however I'm so painfully shy and my first doll meetup experience was so less than savory I think I've shied away from meeting anyone in my area D:
That said, I certainly don't join the hobby any less even if I don't know someone right down the street
~Hobbies~ are something personal you do in your spare time, anyways, though BJDs happen to be a bit more of a social endeavor, still x3

 

I'm lucky that my best friend and room mate is big into dolls. Otherwise I doubt I'd be in this hobby in the first place; he got me into them.

Too bad you live so far away from me, we could be doll buddies! Curse you, giant Texas! Curse youuuuu.

Edit: You can find other people in your area who like dolls in the meet up section, though!

Extra edit: Can understand why that might be spooky though, meeting lots of new people at once is overwhelming sometimes. :v

 

yes, because having someone to rant dolly stuff that no one else understands, with all the abbreviation and acronyms is a really nice thing. i have 2 better dolly friends, though i don't really talk to them about normal day to day stuff as much. one is my junior, and the other i got to know through buying stuff from her. haha. my best friend isn't a doll owner, but she's really supportive of me, and is even helping get my new boy (head only) by letting me send the package to her house, since my parents don't actually allow me to buy another doll. i think not so much of just having dolly friends, but people who are aware and genuinely concerned about your doll hobby is a nice thing.

 

Yes! I need someone else's opinion before I drop 1k on a doll! I don't have any friends that are into the hobby so the hubby has to hear all about it. I use to go to meet ups but I had a really bad experience at one and I stopped going. Someone commented on how ugly my Dollfie Dreams were and how could anyone buy them when they are so ugly! I had just gotten my first one a month or 2 prior to that and it was only my 2nd meet up. After that I stopped going but I found other meet ups and go to and it really fuels my passion for this hobby. My best friend thinks I'm nuts for spending so much on dolls but she understands it is my hobby.