Not worthy of buying a "One Of A Kind" doll!

I thought about putting my name in the lottery for the 1 of a kind dolls with the Volks on line event, and then decided that someone else should have them, as I would 'play' with the doll.... I said If I win the chance to buy Rapunzel, she will be up on display or safe in her box...that lasted about 5 minutes, she's opinionated, ransacks my fabrics, demands I sew what she wants and not what I have planned... so much for keeping that doll 'mint'. So, as much as I would love and treasure such, I would also enjoy the doll. I got a Dollfie Dream, won the buy for Reisner, he's on the way home and got "Date Masamune II" and added to my debt load. It's ok to keep a doll mint in the box or on display, but it's just as ok to enjoy changing their outfits, trying different wigs, eyes, poses.

 

Oh for goodness sake. Bleh. There are no magical doll owners...we each have the collection that pleases us, and well, for those of us who don't spend all day posting about it on social media for likes, that makes us no less worthy than anyone else. You should be buying what you love for your own enjoyment, and no one else's. Why the heck else be in this hobby?? Try to get your head out of the hashtag, and just buy dolls for your own pleasure. Before there was social media, you wouldn't have given it a second thought - and you shouldn't now.

 

You really shouldn't put yourself down like that - there's no ranking system. Just BJD enthusiasts with a myriad of different ways of enjoying our dolls.

I regard mine as playthings and don't see any point in having them if I don't have them out to be picked up and played with (any that don't get played with move on), but that doesn't mean I rank any lower or higher than enthusiasts who regard them as works of art to be dressed and put on display, or those who keep their dolls in boxes for fear of them yellowing quicker, or those who only handle their dolls while wearing golves. I don't agree with any of those approaches but, basically, it's none of my business - the dolls are theirs to do with as they like, and a ranking system doesn't come into it.

Believe in yourself and your right to own any doll you can afford to buy

Teddy

 

Yeah there's no ranking, and when you think about it, every single doll is a OOAK. Someone might buy a non-limited doll and turn it into a beautiful piece of artwork. Someone might buy a limited doll and not leave it in the same state they bought it in (changing the faceup, clothes, etc.). A one-off doll from a doll company is technically just a customized doll like any other, it was just customized by the company instead of the buyer. Anyone who can snag it is just as entitled to it as anybody else.

 

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I own a few OOAK heads (not full dolls - their bodies are stock), but I love having them. I’m not fantastically talented at anything, but still do my own face ups & rubbish photos. I paid for them, so I deserve them! Seriously, if something would make you happy, you can afford it & you’re not harming anyone then go for it.

 

Manabusama,
I quoted you above and didn’t add this message. If anyone should have a one of a kind, it should be you. My dolls give me energy and joy. They wait patiently until I can play with them. They serve in a way that surprises me, and you can see that so many owners feel this way.

I hope so much that you will get a doll or two and just enjoy it, especially as you are ill. It might just be the medicine you need. I wish we could crowd fund and send you the one of your dreams. ❤️❤️❤️

 

But that "someone else" might do exacty the same - how is it more of a waste if you do it than if they do it?

Teddy

 

@manabusama : As long as it makes you feel joy, it definitely is not a waste.

 

I think the bike is a good example. I get what you mean. I have lolita dresses that I've never worn outside my home because I'm too sick to go out to places to wear them. Yes, someone else would wear them regularly and be a better owner for them. But at the end of the day, them sitting in my closet makes me happy. It is a bit of a waste to own them, but I really love them. It does sometimes make me sad that I have all these things that are for a life I'm too sick to lead, but I hope to one day be healthier and live how I want. When sick things that make you happy are important. If a doll makes you happy you should go for it. If it really causes you a lot of anxiety then maybe one of a kinds aren't for you. Hobbies shouldn't make you unhappy. Many people keep their dolls in boxes most of the time only occasionally getting them out. If the dolls make them happy then they're not a waste. I don't think anything that makes you happy is wasteful. Tbh I think a lot of people own exercise equipment they never use. My dad has a weight bench that he hasn't touched in the last ten years. It sits in my parent's bedroom covered in clothes, but it makes him happy.

 

If you want the doll for yourself to enjoy, whether that's playing with it, customizing it or displaying it, then you deserve to have the doll. No type of collector is more deserving than another. The only time I ever feel that someone doesn't "deserve" a doll is when they buy it only to resell at a higher price. Scalpers don't deserve to ruin someone else's chance at their dream doll.

 

Ha, ha, getting a bike and putting it in the garage and never riding it...yes, that’s me (bike is still there). I think we’ve all done something like that. Even with our collections. But, since we aren’t being graded on our dolls and needing to meet certain requirements to be a collector, we can enjoy the hobby our way with no rules. Only the ones we set ourselves.

 

I certainly wouldn't say it's unworthy in concerns of myself in regards to OOAK/one of a kind/one-off dolls. I would label it more as indifference.

Personally, I rarely find myself interested in fullsets and already painted dolls, because I'm more interested in doing them all up myself as my own original characters (or based off a few favorite existing ones). Mine might not have the uber fancy artist done faceups, or heavily detailed fullsets, but to me they're their own version of one of a kind. I put in the effort to make them unique in some way, and they're not like the other versions existing out there of their sculpts. That's enough for me, really.