Meeting people in the hobby

Before I even got my first doll I made a friend who was wanting to gt into the hobby. The sister of a friend's friend, and we hit it off pretty quickly. We both got our first dolls soon after. I've set up a meet-up in my area, about to have the second next month, and that's also a way to make good friends in the area who share the hobby. And you're right, it is more fun to share the hobby with somebody. Though, I have a few people who aren't in the hobby, but love my dolls and love hearing about them, including my mom, so I think it's a bit easier for me not to have too many bjd friends.

 

I met someone in an art class I took last year but neither of us ever talked much and didn't know that the other was interest in BJDs until months later ^^;
we set up a meet up on campus but she was busy and couldn't make it, oh well maybe some other time
I also have a friend that got her first doll a few months after I got mine

I would love to meet more people around here that like BJDs though, and maybe set up a regular meet every few weeks or something

 

I met someone once in the hobby. She already had one doll that I know of. Though it has been a few years since we last talked. I moved out of the state, and lost contact with her. Today was my first day at a meet up. It was so much fun, and I'm glad I got to meet others that are into the hobby. My family just doesn't understand why I would want to get one of the dolls. Well anyways I'm still hoping to make more friends that are into the same hobby.

 

I go to meetups and cons and meet people there. Easy and fun. I usually don't see them outside of doll meets, but a few I will bump into now and then.

Some people I knew before bjds are into bjds. I still mostly see them at meetups! But, again, I see them at cons, too.

I think I'm not terribly social outside of meetups and conventions these days!

People looking for other bjd owners can try putting up a thread in the meetups section to see if there's anyone near-by who wants to get together. You can just meet at a mall or restaurant or park or house... something simple, just to start off. If there are only a few of you, that can be less pressure and less organizing bother.

I've met people outside of meetups and forums and fb, too. They just happen to mention something bjd-related and I'm all about seeing if they are a fan! It's the same way you'd meet anyone... you find some common ground (here, the love of bjds) and start talking! Sometimes it doesn't turn into some big friendship, but it's still nice to meet and talk to people about dolls!

 

I have a hard time meeting people in the hobby, for two reasons I think. One, I have trouble in group interactions where I don't know the majority of the people; I tend to clam up and observe rather than talk, so I end up being the weird lurker at meetups. The other reason is that I'm more detached from the hobby and my dolls than other collectors seem to be. I collect and customize them for my own amusement, but they're hardly my dearest possessions; I don't take them places with me, and I don't 'play' with them (for various interpretations of playing.) They sit in my room where I can see them and make me smile, and that's it. I'm perfectly comfortable with that, but it can make connecting with other owners tricky.

 

Oh me too! I have the hardest time talking to people I don't know! So even though I go to meetups and conventions, I honestly don't really get to know anyone. Fortunately I have friends that are into dolls also.

 

me too, very rarely start conversations with anyone for any reason so it's hard for me to meet and interact with people randomly, and if they talk to me first I usually give the shortest, quickest response possible and go back to observing ^^;
I'm trying to get better interacting with people though

 

I go to Dairyland to see where the meet ups are and go from there. It's really been awesome to meet so many new people who love the same dolls I do and we can literally go on for hours. I'm going to another meet up next month and I can't wait! Luckily I only live an hour away from the usual meet up spot. I tried to go to one local in my town but it fell through rather epically. >.o;; Least the museum ladies happily let me go around without paying and taking photographs of my doll.

 

I've never had trouble meeting people in this hobby, but that's mostly because I think we have the highest number of dolls per capita in my country. 8'D And meetups are quite convenient considering no one really lives more than 2 hours away from anyone else by public transport. Buying a doll locally from another collector also helped. I imagine it must be quite hard if you're living in some more isolated place, though...

 

Dreaming, I know the feeling about travel, here in Montana we have a few Bjd owners but we are all kind of spread around so it's hard for us all to meet up. I'm lucky my roommates are into bjd's too so I get to live with people who share my hobby.

 

The difficulty for me is of convenience. Most of the bjd collectors are in the big cities! It's at least 2hrs away by car and I can't exactly pop down for a meet in the evening, stay for a decent length of time given the time I spent traveling, drive all the way back, AND be as energetic as I need to be at work the next day. There's no such thing as a down day for a Head Start teacher, lol!

I'm a bit shy, yes, but I'd get over it if I was able to attend some sort of meet consistently I think.

 

I'm going to go to my first meet up at the end of October. I can't wait. I found a group and we have a online group chat were we can talk. Its really fun. I've had many hobbies where I try to go out and find others with the same interests. I've always enjoyed it.

 

It's been difficult. There are BJD people here but they tend to congregate over an hour and a half away in either direction not in my town directly. I've got health issues that make it tough so I'm not much into driving long drives. That makes such meetings almost impossible for me. I briefly met two people here last year who were into BJD's but even though I tried to keep in touch they just dropped out of sight. I have met people online from my same state but they don't live here either. Most of my interaction has been via 3 doll forums, that's it. Not just yet but in a few years I am going to move to the Seattle area. I suspect I'll be more active in meetups and such then.

 

I haven't met anyone else in the hobby yet, its a real shame cos I have no one to share it with, It actually makes me feel a bit lonely. My best friends are very anti doll, it fact if I mention it most change the subject, one even tell me to shut up. There are no meet ups any where near by.

 

I have some friends in the hobby, a very few, but I've never attended to a real meeting. And unfortunately, I've recently moved to another city and now all of my "doll" friends are too distant and we have to keep in touch using Internet. I hope to find someone in my new city to share the hobby but probably it will be difficult...

 

Immediately on discovering BJDs, I sought out a local forum. Since joining this hobby, I have been keeping an eye on the Meetings section of a Dutch-speaking and a French-speaking forum. I'm not exactly a social butterfly, but I have found that just the fact of owning dolls does create a sort of connection, and I have no trouble talking to the people I meet at doll gatherings. It's fun! I like going to doll meetings .

 

I meet people in the hobby by going to doll meet-ups. In the beginning, I was a little nervous because I was so new to the hobby so I didn't really make a whole lot of friends at first. But since then I've relaxed quite a bit and it's so much fun hanging out with people and meeting new people too. Recently, I've been attending two different meet-ups in NC (it's a bit of a drive but it's worth it). Even though we don't always talk about our dolls it's still a lot of fun just getting to know other people with similar interests.