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Losing Interest In BJDs?

Oct 7, 2020

    1. I think its pretty natural to have phases where you don’t find a hobby super enjoyable.

      I’ve definitely had this for cosplay and drawing. Normally when a hobby starts becoming more like a chore, my interest in it cools off and I need a break. This is probably the reason I have so many unfinished art projects! ... oh and video games! ahaha. I’ve never completely put down any of my hobbies because I still enjoy them but I have put some projects on hold indefinitely.

      For my BJDs, I’m pretty sure that even if I was not actively doing anything with them I would leave them up for display. I mean, I’ve had Barbies on display in my room since forever even though my Barbie phase is long gone.
       
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    2. I have ADHD so all my hobbies come and go from my sphere of interests. I will be super into something, say, calligraphy, then poof, forget it exists as a hobby. I'm sure that will happen with dolls soon i'm hoping they will come back to interest. thankfully they draw together so many skills, sewing clothes, UV/epoxy resin casting to make eyes, model painting for face-ups and body blushing, various fibre crafts to make wigs, diverse interest.
       
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    3. I think a lot of people take breaks or go through periods of reduced interest. Honestly you have to know yourself — has this happened before with other hobbies? Did you go back to them eventually?

      For myself, I lost interest for 8 or 9 years, and then suddenly was back. I’ve done this with other hobbies before. As a result, I was really glad that I had just put everything in storage instead of selling it. My focus has shifted a bit but I still love the dolls I have and I enjoy the new time I’m spending in the hobby.
       
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    4. When I joined this hobby over a decade ago, I went all in and gave up all my other hobbies (sold all my stuff to buy dolls) and just focused on bjds. In the last three years, I’ve gone back to my dollhouse miniatures hobby full time and collect the occasional bjd. I do enjoy bjd’s, but find them frustrating and a challenge (finding clothes, wigs, etc). Dollhouses are relaxing and I’m much better at them than creating a bjd’s look, lol.
       
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    5. I'm definitely in the midst of this. I haven't bought a new BJD in over a year and I've considered selling most of my current collection. However, facing the arduous task of actually listing and dealing with selling them... I'm trying to appreciate them more instead.
       
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    6. I just came back after doing this for about 4-ish years. I had started to focus more heavily on other collections and hobbies, but then a grail came up and sucked me back in. And now I'm more into it than I have ever been! I'm much more engaged with faceups, sewing and photography than I ever was before. I feel like the break may have been what I needed to come back into the hobby refreshed and with a new perspective. Don't be afraid to give yourself a break; you should go where your passions take you!
       
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    7. I'm a writer, so my dolls are based off of my characters... and unfortunately, that's the problem... characters change and evolve, and when they do, their dolls change, and when I can't change them or can't afford to change them, or like the body that they're on, so I don't want to sell their body, so I can buy another one... or I can't ever figure out how to shell this ONE, or this other one doesn't like ANY of the clothes that I have... it can get a bit... frustrating. I'm not really sure how to fix the problem, and dolls that aren't specific characters, are also somewhat bothersome... so all around, I'm just screwed.
       
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    8. I have been in the hobby since 2011 and was really involved for many years. I posted frequently and even ran a YouTube channel about my dolls. I sort of drifted away from the hobby a couple of years ago, but kept my favourite doll because I couldn't bare to part with him. He was my grail for the longest time and I was lucky to find him as he was discontinued. I took a break because it all got overwhelming for me. I always kept my doll on display though and kept thinking one day I'd come back to it, and here I am.

      I realised this was the best and longest hobby I ever had and I remembered how much I enjoyed it. I think now I'm a lot older I'm able to just enjoy the hobby for what it is; doll collecting, rather than worrying about an online presence or wanting to have a 'popular' doll. I think as a teenager you kind of get sucked into that mentality. My doll tastes have changed since leaving and coming back but I just felt drawn into returning to the hobby.

      It's okay to take a break and come back, and it's okay to wonder if it's the right thing for you. Passions change over time. No one will judge you for leaving for a bit and come back if you want. You have do what make you happy! :)
       
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    9. I'm there right now.. I was absolutely obsessed with BJDs the first few months in the hobby and ended up buying a gorgeous girl second hand which came pretty much immediately. I then ordered another tiny one, but I had to wait half a year, and once she finally arrived, I had lost all interest. I was so happy and exited as I ordered her, and now I feel as if did nothing more but waste money. It's weird how we suddenly lose interest in something we loved so much.
      I really hope you find the love for BJD's once more, as I do for myself. I'll be watching this thread:)
       
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    10. I feel so sorry for you Lol! I, on the other hand, am NOT a writer but always wanted to be. The problem is, I had a scrap of a story line and it just never developed even further. What's even more bothersome is I adopt dolls that I thoroughly enjoy but have absolutely no place in what bit of story I have going already. So likewise, we are both screwed in our own way XD

      This is basically what happened to me with my 3rd and latest doll adoption. I waited SO long for her that all excitement was lost. And once she arrived, the idea /fashion style I had for her just isn't working ...so now I am left figuring that out from scratch. (Which ultimately means spending more money).
       
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    11. My interest in the hobby definitely comes and goes! All of my interests seem to take turns in terms of which I'm currently fixated on. I'll be very focused on BJDs for a bit, then nendoroids, then playing Animal Crossing will take over. My interest always cycles back around to the things I truly enjoy, however, so I try not to let the periods of "meh" worry me.
      Basically my advice is that If you'd rather be doing something that doesn't involve your dolls right now, do it! You'll find yourself drawn back into the hobby soon enough if you want to be, there's never a rush.
       
    12. It comes in waves but its nice to bounce between hobbies so I never get bored!
       
    13. I’m in the hobby for a couple years, but never really lost interest. I was just doing things by myself not talking to anyone until recently. After I entered DoA and started using instagram they way a see the hobby changed a little though.
      I never seen to get tired of my other hobby as well, so maybe I’m that kind of person that sticks to it when I start something.
      It’s totally understandable sobre people get tired of dolls and take a break sometimes.
       
    14. I have gone through ebbs and tides with my interest in dolls. I got my first in 2006 and collected voraciously for 2 - 3 years, then lost interest and sold many of them. There was a time where I did not log in to DOA for years! Then my interested grew again a few years ago, then it waned again shortly after and I sold more dolls. Now my interest is piqued again!

      I have always had my core of my first doll (Lishe that is in my profile pic), a Tanning Lishe, and a LittleFee Ante, all of whom I don't see myself ever selling. I have two other newer dolls from My Meadow, one of which I don't see myself selling ever (but have considered selling the other), and right now I'm actually feeling experimental and bought a MiniFee, which is a size I have never bonded well to, but I want to give it a go now that my interest is high again.

      I think this kind of thing is common with all hobbies--our brains want different things at different times for different reasons. There are times where I do yarn crafts nonstop for several weeks, then don't touch them again for months. Or times I read 20 books in a month, but then don't have an interest in reading for a while. I just see it as a natural progression of our interests and needs as we live our lives and grow and change.
       
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    15. I have been in the hobby since 2004. I was extremely active for the majority of the time, but not so much the last several years. I still love dolls and absolutely hope to grow my collection again someday!
       
    16. In 2011 I couldn’t afford a BJD and went to art school because of that to learn .I lost four pregnancies ( one was a stillborn) in the years after and totally got out of all hobbies. I was very depressed after finding out how unlikely adoption is ( there are 6.7 Million infertile women in the USA and 15 Million willing to adopt in general, with only 800 thousand adoptions per year, half of those step child adoptions the chances are very slim ). I basically did not do anything. But last year my husband revived me . He said I can buy whatever I want, even my dream doll s if only I’ll be better again. So I got back into the hobby. I even found an investor for my own bjd that I’m working on. It truly brought me back to life even after many years out of the hobby.
       
      #36 Natalie.Jua, Oct 17, 2020
      Last edited: Oct 20, 2020
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    17. For me, it comes and goes, but I never feel like selling my dolls when I am not playing with them.
      For more than a year I haven't nearly touched them but now I picked it up again, cleaning, restringing, hot gluing, de-yellowing, and gonna redo a face-up on one of my dolls. And it was my first time also restringing a doll. :)
       
    18. I got my first BJD in 2009. I left the hobby slowly around when I went to college in 2011, since I couldn't bring my dolls to my dorm. Since then I've had my interest restart a little bit for a week or two over the years. Just this week, I logged back onto DoA and started browsing the off-topic forms and saw a doll that looked really interesting. This sparked my interest all over again.

      I realized many the dolls I had didn't fit my current aesthetic and they were based on characters that I wasn't invested in anymore. Seeing a whole different type of doll let my come at the hobby with fresh eyes and realize that what I needed was to start fresh with my collection. I'm now planning to give new face-ups and characters to most of my dolls. I just needed permission to get creative instead of feeling stuck with the choices that I made as a teenager.
       
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    19. I bought my first doll in 2009 after being super interested in the hobby for a year or two prior. As soon as I got into it, I got really into it. I bought quite a number of dolls over the following years all the while keeping my other hobbies (not that many, big or expensive as BJD's so easy to combine).

      For me things tended to cool down when I started going to college. Less time and money to spend on dolls. I also got into another quite expensive hobby at that time (historical reenactment). I did leave my dolls on display as I still loved them, I just didn't buy any new ones or spend as much time on them. Sometimes I would change a face-up or change their clothes but that was about it.

      For the last two or so years I've considered quitting the hobby and selling all my dolls as the bond I had with them seems to have dwindled. Well, for all but one.

      However, having made the decision to spend the time to sell all my dolls I've come back here to get a bit of a feeling for them again as well as get an idea of what second hand dolls and certain sculpts go for these days, I've come to realize why I loved this hobby so much once again.

      I still plan to sell most of my dolls as they don't really fit my interest or style anymore, however, I might just get some other ones instead. Probably not as many or as quickly as I first did, but I've definitely rediscovered the hobby.
       
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    20. There's definitely an ebb and flow to being in a hobby for a long time. Flowers don't bloom 100% of the time, so don't expect yourself to be at peak hype and peak activity all the time.

      My eldest doll is gonna be a teenager next June, so it's been a while!

      Fortunately dolls aren't like acquiring pets (I'm a little stressed out by how some pet-themed youtubers get a bit animal-hoard-y because they need new exciting content...) and they don't mind being boxed up for a while if you're not in the mood.

      And aesthetic preferences change. I sold a lot of the dolls from the start of my BJD journey because I've been looking for different looks and shelling different characters. The type of characters I liked in high school and early college don't appeal to me in the same way.
       
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