Less is More?

I'm not sure I follow what you're asking? Do you mean finding joy in having a smaller collection or finding joy in that your doll can or can't do? Like the literal posing/design limitation?

 

I don't think that's me, as I've never sold any of my dolls (only one that was a failed gift). But I'm pretty new so I suppose someday I may need to sell some of them. But for now I'm enjoying growing my doll collection rather than limiting it. I think if I really did need to slim it down I might like to give a doll away rather than selling her.

 

I was thinking about this today. I believe I've completed my collection, at least for a while. I have limited funds and limited space, but in the last couple of years, since covid, I got carried away and made some unwise doll purchases. I'm in the process of selling off dolls I wish I hadn't bought. And. . . as soon as a certain head arrives, I will have completed the group of dolls I really wanted.
I'm limiting myself to 16 dolls. About half of what I used to have. I enjoy them much more if I'm emotionally invested in each one's personality. I can't do that when I feel overwhelmed with many dolls.

I like having dolls as couples. I have a mate for each of my dolls except for a couple of the MSDs. My collection consists of 4 SD size couples and 2 of those couples have children (YOSDs). Then with my MSDs, there are 2 sets of siblings and a couple who are singles. I'm very happy with this arrangement. All of my dolls, especially the SDs, look compatible together. That is how I planned it.

 

Oh, definitely in many ways

The posability - I prefer the single joints, they look nicer and classier imo. I don't need superb posability, particularly in the knee and hip area if they always only sit or stand.

The size of the collection - I have 5 dolls and sometimes even this number gives me a little anxiety. Anyway, I love each of them too much to part with any of them. The most I had was 12 dolls.

The focus on SDs - I love all sizes and if there were no space limits (or moving) I'd love to have msds and yosds. But I only keep SD13 girls and a petite SD boy who fits their clothes precisely. He's like a skinnier SD10. Anyway, since each new size would need a separate set of boxes for their accessories, I cannot afford that space- and time-wise (I sew on my own). So I had to decide on one size only.

In sum, definitely, less is more for me. I love minimalism and decluttering a lot, btw

 

Oh definitely! I'm glad you brought this up - I feel like it's almost 'part' of the hobby to have many wigs, eyes, clothing to switch around with, and I understand how that can be very fun in its own right, but I'm very happy sticking to one wig, and one pair of eyes per doll. And maybe a couple of clothing sets each. I guess I like giving each doll a consistent and default look.

I feel this so much too! My plan from the start was to only stick to 3, because that's what my budget and space comfortably allows, and that's also how I feel I can best enjoy this hobby - but recently I've crossed the threshold a bit: now I have one that was totally unplanned for, but also one where I was originally already waiting for its release later down the line. so that would mean 4 in total, but even just one extra unplanned one is giving me a bit of anxiety HAHA

I also have limited storage space for me to keep the doll goodies, and I really don't want to go past my allocated drawer space for them as well. It'd be more stressful to try to *find* space for them by clearing out other space somewhere else, and I'd prefer if a hobby gives me as little stress as possible

Regarding the limitation of doll bodies: in the first place I'm not one to photograph my dolls in different poses etc., so even though I believe the bodies I have are quite up-to-par w/ regards to posing, I enjoy looking at them better in a default, relaxed position. I think it gives them a more classic "doll" look as well

So I'm really glad to see this post being made, and that there're fellow bjd owners around who enjoy the minimalism that this hobby can provide It's all about embracing and accepting what dolls can be, and cannot be.

 

I would love to be a minimalist, but I tend to hoard, which is bad as is but more so for (me) within certain hobbies. I wish I could have one wig per doll, but when I first got into these dolls, there wasn't a huge variety of much as far as styles, sizes, colors etc. (I think synthetic fibers are still pretty limited in most of those areas now). I didn't know how to make wigs, and hard-cap DIY ones weren't a thing -- I can now make my own wigs, but I suck at it, so I need to make a few to have at least a semi-decent, not too crappy looking one for any given doll. I had the same problem with eyes; I wish I had only one pair per doll, but eye choices were limited back then. As soon as I was able to find someone to custom make some for me, I did. Sadly, those were also hit or miss, so I ended up with too many, that I'll probably never actually use. I don't really mind (not just because I am a hoarder!), I find it fun to switch wigs and eyes around. I don't feel like I'll break or damage the perception I have of the doll, or character I have set for the doll, just because I change their hair or eyes. It's just like changing their clothes to me, they are dolls in the end. I like changing how they look, if I feel like it.

When it comes to these specific types of dolls however, I never really wanted "too many" of them. I actually stopped short of the limit I had set for myself. Just this past April I purchased my seventh BJD, with zero to no desire to purchase any, in more than a decade. I wish that was the case outside this hobby; sometimes I feel like I need to reconsider my life choices sometimes, but I love scale (Japanese video game and anime) figures too much to seriously stop myself. I have a problem with mass produced fashion dolls too. If they were all made out of resin, I wouldn't have problems stopping myself, but that's probably not going to happen any time soon. DX

 

I have recently been thinking about this. I only owe one single jointed doll (my first, Dream of Doll Bee-A) and I have been handling it a lot lately. At first I thought of selling it or getting a new double jointed body, but then I started really enjoying messing around with photos from different angles, maybe changing slightly the hairstyle to make her look somehow different... It opened a whole new world of creativity!

 

Thank you for clarifying! I have 8 dolls and that feels like entirely too much already. I like the idea of focusing on two or three dolls (minimalist) but spoiling them with lots of clothes furniture etc (def not minimalistic ahahah). The problem is I feel bad about the dolls I don't want to focus on in my long term plan so I'm not sure what I will do with them because I don't want to give them up!

I think my ideal collection would be my littlefee and her iplehouse sister and then two mature 1/6 dolls that would be a couple.

 

In some ways, I'm fine with less, in others, I don't limit myself. All depends on what works!

With wigs and eyes, things that I'm not going to change much once I find "the one," I don't get many. I have a set idea for what each doll's wig and eyes should look like, so I will specifically hunt for those. I might go through a couple/few in the quest to find "the one," (Tian Ni has gone through like, three sets of eyes now?) but I don't tend to nab wigs and eyes just because I like their look, even though I got a doll to fob off anything I did happen to get just because! Storing wigs especially seems like too much of a pain if they're off the doll, though. Too easily messed up.

I also only have so much space for dolls, so keeping myself to the constraint of "the BJDs can live within this one cabinet, and only this one cabinet," means I'm careful with what I bring into my collection. I have to really love something to get it.

What I don't limit is posability and clothes. I got into BJDs because I liked that they had more articulation than many of the fashion dolls at the time did (I found out about them before MTM Barbies were a thing), and I was enamored with the possibilities. My OT doll has some single joints, and I don't tend to notice? But I prefer double joints. And with clothes, I'm re-(re-re-)learning how to sew by making doll clothes, so they get whatever I can make because limiting myself on how many clothes they get limits how much practice I get!

 

@esuko this exactly Dolls should de-stress and not add to it i am not a minimalist when it comes to the accessories, so that's why I keep only one size. I have a separate box for the wigs, small accessories (underwear, shirts, etc), larger pieces (dresses and overcoats) and shoes. I'll soon need a bigger box for the accessories actually xD But, in return, I will have used all my fabric stash and should be able to get rid of one piece of furniture (or use it to store other items that currently resemble clutter)

 

I’m kinda in that stage of the hobby where I’m like “ooh! New fancy thing!” But once I get everything I initially want I’m sure I’ll slow down and take a more relaxed stance to the hobby

 

I feel like I'm somewhere in-between this?

What I'm getting at is that I'm not one to collect prosperously and profusely. I don't focus on actively seeking out the ooh, pretty! or having some long laundry list of bjds I need to acquire for reasons—such as based on aesthetics, a special fullset, a must-have sculpt/doll without plans behind it beforehand, or just the need to have anything or everything that catches my eye. I feel like this is one of the pros of being a character-specific sort of collector: I'm focused on a list of specific OCs (or very specific, special existing characters I'd love/need to shell as bjds) to make up my collection instead of having a hoard of pretty things to put on display.

Once upon a time I had favorite characters I would've loved to have a poseable, physical representation of, but didn't have any available options out there to make it a reality. When I still collected Pullip/Taeyang/etc. dolls, I ended up going down this route for a majority of the ones I had/obtained. It carried over into the bjd hobby when I started collecting them instead—with the addition of my own OCs becoming fleshed out at the same time.

When it comes to wigs...it's mainly dependent on finding that perfect one that matches that specific character? I don't go out of my way to obtain multiple wigs for each bjd, unless the previous one gets damaged or plain-out doesn't work upon arrival (or something about the OC shifts that requires such a change).

Clothes...it's mainly a character-focused thing. I don't require a large wardrobe for every bjd I have. Some are fine with one specific outfit, while a few others might demand a few wardrobe options. Sometimes there's also just a need to upgrade previous pieces for a variety of reasons—better fit, closer in design to the original idea, ot a quality upgrade to what they were wearing prior.

Also, when it comes to numbers—I plan on no more than 25. In all honesty, I have around 18-19 right now, and don't have many more ideas I'd really like to shell. So—that seems like a good cut-off number.

So—that's pretty much been my formula for bjd collecting ever since I began the hobby. I've had one or two exceptions with a few things, but 99% of the time my main focus in the hobby is on my characters (existing or original to me).

 

It makes me feel very happy to work with what I have and to find ways to continue to enjoy and feel inspired by my dolls I own already and their things already here, absolutely. But I'm a bit this way and a bit that way. I see myself and my collection the way they are now and I appreciate the current state but I also desire changes for the future. However at this point I hope to achieve a general reduction in the amount of stuff my doll hobby contains. It's been a huge focus of my life so I've bought and made so, so much and have adopted so many dolls that yes it's general overwhelming to me. But I have to be a different person to reduce this collection dramatically and I'm not entirely there yet.
I do think we see a lot of excitement in this hobby for getting new stuff and new dolls but there is so much joy in other things too. I think as a long term hobby it has an ebb and flow for many people, and a life cycle. For me there is a sweet spot in there somewhere of having "enough" to feel I have choices, variety, to keep me excited and inspired, but too much and it does start to negate itself.

 

I definitely agree less is more, in many ways:

Dolls: I only have 15, which I know sounds like a lot to some people, but considering that is less than half of what I had at my highest number, it's pretty minimal to me. My crew focuses around my two main characters (Cooper and Brendan), and everyone else is connected to them in some form. This keeps me from having a huge collection of random dolls/characters that aren't "useful" to me.

Joints: Whether a doll is single or double jointed doesn't really matter to me so much as how functional those joints are. I don't need extreme poses for my dolls, so as long as they can do basic stuff, I'm happy. I've had single jointed dolls that pose well, and double jointed who can barely stand. The number of joints doesn't equal quality to me. Although I do tend to prefer fewer joints aesthetically--I like the body to only have one joint along the rib cage, none at the ribs or neck.

Accessories: I guess I'm minimal when it comes to wigs and eyes--most of my dolls get one wig and one set of eyes and I don't switch them out. The only exceptions being when a wig isn't right for a doll and I buy something new, or in the case of Pepper who has....I think...6 wigs? Maybe 7? Because her character is addicted to hair dye and changes it up regularly. But when it comes to clothes, I do hoard. I like each doll to have at least 20 mix and match pieces. I also keep a box of spare wigs and a tub of spare eyes I've either bought that didn't work as planned or that came free with a doll but didn't fit the character. Never know when those might be useful again!

Size: I limits myself to dolls only in the 52-65cm range. Over my 14 years in the hobby, I've owned dolls from 8cm up to 73cm and realized that most are either too large or too small for my taste. Pretty standard 1/3 range is best for me. My only exception is my first doll, who is 1/4 scale, but he's too sentimental to let go.

Other: I only have human dolls.

 

Oh I definitely feel this! I think I've owned 14-ish dolls, but I only have two at home right now, and even that makes me antsy (though it's mostly because I don't know what to do with the second doll - I've never been able to style her like I want her to look). I've been trying to pare down everything - wardrobe, art supplies, book collection... It's just so unweildly and hard to keep clean, I really wish I could be a minimalist and only own like, 70 items or something. Right now I'm trying to practice not buying anything that doesn't 100% suit my needs and something I don't 100% like (not following this mandate is why my box of stuff for sale is bigger than the box of my actual collection...). Having a portable collection also makes it easier to travel, which is something I like doing with my dolls.

For Leonie, I want all of her accessories and clothes to fit inside of her doll box and a football (that's been made into a box). It's thematically appropriate and feels like a good amount of stuff - I think it'll fit one wig, 2 outfits (one set can be used two ways), 3 pairs of shoes, and a few knick-knacks. She's single-jointed and not the greatest of posers but that hasn't really been as important to me as being able to strike more fluid poses (which she can do). I can see maybe acquiring a second wig since she does have a couple hairstyles but I think I'll be happy with just the one too.

My next planned doll will be a bit more difficult to keep pared down because her character is a fashion designer so she is supposed to have A LOT of outfits and shoes (one of which is a space suit, which, if I ever do get around to making, will be extremely bulky...), and would probably require at least two wigs - her signature hairstyle, and something that's easier to manage. I can see myself being happy with 2-3 sets of versatile outfit sets that can be mixed and matched though.

There are two more characters that I want in doll form, but I haven't found something I like for them. So for now I think I'd just be happy with just Leonie and maybe eventually Dot... The tricky thing is that all of my dolls are (somewhat intentionally) aesthetically different so they don't allow me to optimize the collection and let them share stuff.

 

Yeah I feel this as well. I'm still quite new to the hobby, and it can be very tempting to see something pretty and be like "oh I need that!" but with the long wait times for most dolls and items shipping from all over the globe, it's made me take pause and really think - is that something I'm still going to have a desire for 6 months down the road? And so I've been pushing myself to learn to sew instead of buying constantly, and I also think I'm going to put a cap on how many dolls I can have at a time. Right now I have 2- I think I'll likely limit myself to 4-5, and they all must be MSD sized, human dolls. I think working within those constraints will work well for me long term.

 

I have over 60 dolls at this point and... god, I really envy people who are fine with just a few. I'm just not comfortable being a "collector" but I love too many dolls It's just so much easier to only have to keep track of a few dolls... I feel so bad when I overlook a doll for a little too long and they get dusty. That definitely didn't happen when I had less dolls.

I've definitely started feeling "less is more" in a big way after getting into anime dolls. LESS DETAIL!!!! No sculpted veins, no skin texturing, no bazillion eyelash and eyebrow hairs. I love when dolls even omit things like fingernails for the sake of flow. I know a lot of people consider dolls with less details to be "cheap" or "lazy", but with anime dolls I find that too many extra features actually detract from the overall effect of the doll and make it rather creepy. A very simple, fluid, well-executed design is often underappreciated!

I have to say, though, when it comes to joints more is ALWAYS more for me. If a doll doesn't have a mobility joint/hip peanut, double jointed limbs, and at least 1 torso joint I feel very stifled. Jointed fingers, neck, and upper arms are all welcome bonuses. I just feel that, even if the doll is only sitting in place most of the time, good jointing is key to really achieving lifelike and emotive sitting.

 

I definitely have minimalist aspirations, but I am not so good at it. I keep ending up with big piles of stuff I like so I'm more of a collector. But with my current doll collection I feel it's pretty minimal?

I like having one wig and one set of eyes per doll and not changing them. Same with outfits. I have bought a bunch of stuff over the years trying to find the "perfect" single outfit, wig, or eyes so I ended up with a bunch of extras anyway. I should go through and sell the extra stuff but I am also very lazy and that is a lot of effort...

I feel like I could probably reduce my number of dolls as well? I have 6 on-topic dolls right now, two of whom are their own thing and the rest are a group. I don't feel so attached to the story those four are based on any more since it's been years and years since both of us who were working on it abandoned it. I don't know. I love the dolls as themselves.