is having RL doll friends important to you?

I honestly have no idea what RL people do that I can't do over the internet. If I want to talk about dolls, I talk to a forum. If I did something really cool, I show my boyfriend. If I did something really cool and it has to do with dolls, I probably talk to a forum and show my boyfriend.

 

Sort of. I don't see too much difference between rl friends and people I've met over the internet. It's lovely either way to have friends with some similar interests though.

 

I have to say i just started going to local meetups and I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

I have the time of my life discussing doll stuff with everyone, seeing dolls I don't have, etc.

Dolls are a pretty big part of my life, and it's nice having people you can meet with to share the joy.

 

Not really. I do have one but even if she didn't like dolls than I don't think it would make a difference to me. I love my dolls and her loving dolls is awesome but I wouldn't be all lonely if I didn't have any other rl doll friends, I have plenty online

 

i chose indifferent mainly because i have tried to connect with other doll owners, but unfortunatly there is no one that lives close by when i am in md.

but then again when i am in nyc for school there are a lot of ppl there.

more then having a friend who also collects dolls i am more interested in a friend that also has a hobby they are really into and want to share with me. that way i can learn about other types of things ppl do and have someone to talk to about dolls! nice balance i think.

 

I guess I would say indifferent? It's great to talk and meet up with bjd owners and see all the dolls, but I'm not really involved with the hobby anymore, so I don't talk about bjds now anyways XD I think it's nice to share the excitement of getting a new doll etc though.

 

I'm not sure. I'm fine with just being alone for the most part, although I guess it would be nice to share some things with other like minded people... Mostly I'm okay with just blabbering about various doll things to my Mum though. xDI don't think anyone's into BJDs where I live anyway. D:

 

I would say yes, having friends IRL who are fellow doll collectors is important. This hobby is fun even without other persons, but as soon as you add a few friends to the mix, it's that much better. Certainly there is conversation about dolly matters, but when you have other conversations too, it makes having friends in the hobby more important. Personally, I enjoy this hobby so much more when I have a few people to joke around with at meet-ups instead of just going to them to see a bunch of pretty dolls.

Also, most of my close friends and boyfriend don't entirely share common interests, so that's also why I like having friends in this hobby.

 

Yes, some of the people I got to know through dolls are very important friends to me now
And it's so much more fun if you have people to talk about your dolls and who are also into dolls

 

Hmm, I'm not sure how to answer this. I guess you can put me in the 'no' or 'indifferent' corner. I wouldn't say it's 'important' to me, though it is nice to have real life doll friends sometimes. Although sometimes it's downright dreadful. I've had 'doll "friends"' look down on me because of the choices I make for my doll collection, which certainly is something that happens a lot more than most people think. It can't be helped, everyone has opinions and some people are a lot more forceful with them than others.

Nothing will make you go more sour in the hobby than having someone, or a group of people, telling you to your face they don't like your dolls or how you enjoy your dolls. Having real life friends in the hobby isn't always enriching, it works both ways. I'd rather hear things like that from random people online than real life people who I imagined would be as happy to be involved with dolls and other people as I am. Just because you share a similar interest does not mean you will be like-minded by any standards.

Sometimes having people who know dolls as friends isn't as glamorous as you'd imagine, keep that in mind. It's not all sparkles and roses.

 

Having RL doll friends is really nice, I won't lie. I'm really involved in the Boston meetups and they can be a good time; sharing stories, teaching each other tricks and just generally hanging out with people who get it. I met most of my RL friends when I moved back to Boston a few years ago through dolls, and that's an awesome side effect of the hobby for me.

However. Not everyone in the hobby is going to be your friend. People who are into dolls can be judgmental, socially inept, or just plain crazy the way any other group can be, except you're all in a room full of hugely expensive, breakable items while you find out who's who.

I wouldn't give up my friends for the world, but wading into a doll community is a bit of a double edged sword.

 

it WAS. i felt so alone and i wanted to be able to share my passion with someone. be able to discuss about it ^^
now i dont really care anymore...

 

I love having dolly friends. It's just amazing to be able to talk "doll speak" with another human who isn't just humoring you.

 

I'm an 'indifferant' peep.

I don't DISLIKE having doll friends, I have one that live within an hour of me (and that is the CLOSEST PERSON IN THE STATE) that I text a lot, and we're talking about getting together in a nearby town and such next month which will be awesome because I do enjoy human interaction and such.

However!

Most of my 'friends' are online folks that live several states/countries/continents away from me. And that's fine. I'm good with that since I can be spooked by large groups of unknown people. Sometimes I get lonely and bemoan my lack of local dollie friends, but so long as I can share my pictures with people in the threads and whinge about things that have gone wrong (like double joints that are not working....) I'm okay.

 

I'd have a hard time answering in the context of "real life" friends, as I'm pretty sure everyone on here is real. XD

But, locally, yes, it became kinda important to me to have doll friends. Besides my local group being pretty awesome, it gives me a chance to play with other's dolls, let others play with mine, and actually get use out of the props I buy/make (the latter is rather enriching to me, it tells me how well I've scaled things for different dolls). I think, being in VA, it'd be a terrible shame to miss out on some of the parks and areas for photos with dolls, but it always seems much better with friends.
Typically, our group tends to be pretty chill and I don't think there's ever been a meet-up disaster of any kind (though, just last month, several of us were scouring a patch of my yard for a lost puki cat ear, which was found stuck to another doll's magnet, or something...) and our group tends to be pretty chill.

 

I've had a shaky, distant interest in BJDs for a few years, but it was not until I showed my girlfriend a few pictures of them online just a couple of months ago that our common interest sparked into something much greater. We're waiting on our first doll now, something I didn't think I'd own for years, or ever! Having someone to talk to about them who really shares the interest and passion makes it so much more real. We'd love to meet more BJD owners in our areas and are very excited to take our girl to meet ups and converse with other owners.

The idea of having a database that lists members by region would be wonderful! I think seeing how many people in an area share that interest would inspire more meet ups. I'm sure there are people in my town who like BJD and I don't even know it!

Sadly, we are aware that as new owners who are waiting on a hybrid doll, no less, are going to be a bit ostracized, but they are bound to be nice people, right? (: We're happy having each other for BJDs, but other people could be nice, too.

 

Dollyfriends are really important to me because I love sharing the joy of collecting. I have a play date with my dollyfriend, who lives a couple blocks from me, every week.

 

Not really, considering my best friend and I have a lot in common besides dolls. Plus, I have met some doll people at a local anime convention and none of them were that friendly towards me >n>; (it doesn't help that I'm super shy).

 

When I had the reborns and Himstedts and such I had no real friends to meet up with as no one willing to come to me and as for meet ups, more just doll shows. But since I been collecting BJD I have been to at least one giant meet up with 30 or more people attending as well as many small gatherings. Still have not held one at my place, but do plan a big bash in near by city for my 55th B-Day so I will host an event one day.

But the fact I can physically meet one on one with people, exchange ideas and talk about our resin kids is the best thing that has happened to me in years.