Others Handling Your Dolls

I don’t know. I don’t mind some people handling them but children are notoriously dirty and I don’t want them to think they can touch them whenever so I would probably only let my boyfriend and some family hold it. My mom calls it a phase like I want to be a child again even though I never liked dolls as a child so I don’t think she would understand how to care for them. I guess anyone who I think is decent could hold them after I tell them be careful lol. I am just pretty protective of my possessions as well as my dog or future child so not just anyone can handle them.

 

If it's the bigger 70cm DC, I think you should be fine. Their finger/toe joints are a lot bigger than the "Kid" DCs (aka, my DC Matthew). I still recommend being gentle with them especially when putting clothes on. Also, the size difference of the joints between the "Kid" and "Adult" DCs are pretty drastic. "Kid" have fingers the size of, I'd say, a small crochet needle, and the "Adult" have fingers the size of a thin pen. Now, I'm not exactly sure, but I hope this helped!

 

I am kinda mixed. I do not mind if someone comes up to me and asks to take a picture holding the doll (depending on which doll it is) since they are standing close. I also am grateful to random people who ask to help me take photos of my dolls by holding them for me. In both cases I show them where to hold the doll (only touching stable areas covered with clothing).
For other doll owners, I do not mind them picking up my dolls and checking the resin or range of motion or posing them so long as they ask my permission first and have washed their hands before handling (since I expect they will be touching the resin). That might sound a bit silly (asking if their hands are clean) but it is one of my ways of trying to keep them clean even when I take them out with me. Fortunately no one has asked me to change one of my dolls clothes yet. I honestly do not know what I would say to that.
Honestly I love when strangers come up and ask about my dolls with genuine curiosity. To me it is a way to 'educate' people who do not participate in the hobby and show that dolls are not usually what you see in horror movies. I am still relatively new to taking my dolls out of the house though, I think if something were to happen, like one being damaged, that would be the end of me placing the care of my dolls in someone else's hands.

 

I really don't think I'd be okay with most people handling them. Aside from the risk of damage, it's just kind of a moot point in my life! My roommate and I tolerate each other's collections, and treat them with indifference, but respect. Neither of us entertain in the house much. The chances of anyone being around to handle a doll is slim. I considered the question from the angle of having a doll out in public, and that's where it gets a bit muddier. I guess I wouldn't have the doll out in a visible place unless I was okay with some minor interaction with others, but I just can't quite wrap my head around the idea of having someone else handle a doll of mine. The sole exceptions would be a couple of friends of mine who are in the hobby, neither of whom I see much.

This all makes me feel kind of selfish as I type it out, but I can't deny that I feel protective of this hobby, as well as the dolls themselves.

 

I do, but I let them know that they’re heavy so they aren’t surprised by the weight.

 

I would really only let someone handle my dolls if they knew both the monetary and sentimental value of them. If they were to break I wouldn't be angry it would just be disappointing and also lots of normal people don't know about how the oil in your fingers effects faceup and resin. So their inclination I have found is to touch their faces and I'm like NOOOOOO

 

I'm pretty chill with letting strangers hold my doll. I took him to a convention once and it was the first time I took him out. We had fun and the people we encountered had positive reactions to him. I was the first one who asked if people wanted to hold him and most people were nice and held him gently. Many others declined and didn't wish to hold him so I didn't worry too much. I haven't had any bad encounters with strangers yet. My family is allowed to handle my doll (except my siblings) and none of my friends have handled him yet. Honestly, I let almost everyone handle my doll because I'm really trusting (I should probably stop hahaha)

 

I'm not real fussed about it with people I know, and maybe under certain circumstances I'd let a stranger one. The first bjd I ever got to handle belonged to a nice girl who was willing to let my sister and I hold her girl at an anime con.
I'd like to say I'd extend the favor to someone else but I'd likely be a paranoid mess the entire time because of having things ripped off before, no dolls thank goodness, but still items that held some value to me.

 

It depends on the person. And the environment I guess. And maybe the doll as well.

I once handed a 2 year old one of my 16cm tinies and she was extremely careful with it and carried it in her arms for about 3 hours -- but I only handed her that particular tiny because I knew she wouldn't be able to harm it, unlike some of my other dolls that she seemed to hyper fix on.

I think if a person asks me first, I'll let them model and pose my dolls without a problem

 

im quite happy to let other collectors or people i trust handle my dolls but i really dislike handing them over to strangers; if they ask to look i tend to just hold my girl up for them to see her better /.\ i feel a bit bad and people act like im really over reacting but my first and only girl of 5 years was broken so im lots more careful with my new girl.

 

I have not been to any BJD themed events.
I guess I don't really let anyone touch them unless I trust them and they are helping me restring my bjd.

 

I let them know, they can touch, but do NOT touch the face under any circumstances. However, this could be a detriment, since I know of at least two people who took it as a challenge to try to rub off the paint and I don't understand WHY you would do that.
My cousin, when holding Avalon for the first time, after I mentioned he was custom painted, started to try to rub off his cheek blushing and thankfully didn't do much more than touch his cheek before I mentioned: "You rub off that paint, you are paying for a new faceup, that was twenty eight dollars with shipping and I had to mail him out." and she stopped but good god it made me mad. Still frustrates me remembering that.

There was also, the factoid of, flipping up my girls skirts or in again, same cousin and her husband... Holding my boy and yanking his pants down so they could see his doll parts. :/ Thankfully after that initial curiosity they haven't tried that since and my cousin is actually supportive of the hobby... It was just the first time seeing a meetup and they didn't seem to "get" it was a real hobby until they saw how many different people and dolls there were.

 

I have no issue with my friends handling my dolls, they always ask permission and I appreciate that.
They know the value of my dolls, both material and sentimental, so they handle them carefully.

At meetups, I'm usually pretty open about letting folks handle my dolls so long as they ask.

At my very first meetup as a brand new doll owner, someone let me hold their expensive fairyland fullset because I said she was pretty. I didn't even ask! They just said "oh would you like to hold her?" and put her in my hands.
I was pretty taken aback that someone would be so trusting right off the bat, and it's stuck with me!
I've found that folks at my local meets are pretty great and all trust each other like that - so with that culture in mind, I'm pretty trusting too!

 

I'd have to decide on a case-by-case basis, but I don't think I'd let anyone I don't know and trust very well handle my dolls unless I was in the room with them. The last thing I need is to have something I spent $200+ on and personally customized damaged by someone who didn't know (or did know, but didn't care) how to treat it.

 

i let people handle my dolls but get very protective and anxious! i always try to get them back pretty much as soon as ive handed them over ;-; i wish i could be more trusting though!

 

I'd rather they didn't. One time my dad dropped a head on the tiled floor and it bounced. Miraculously there was no damage but I am keeping them to myself after that!!

 

I would definitely not let a stranger hold my dolls but I love when my husband handles my dolls he does super cute things with them. Whenever I let someone new handle my dolls I lay down a sent of ground rules and make sure that they understand that these rules apply any time they handle the dolls not just the first time. My husband has a very natural knack for posing dolls and whenever he walks by he tends to pose them together in a super cute and realist way, which I love.

 

Hi, I'm new here, just jumping around and reading bits that are posted. That story is horrifying! What a terrible thing for that mother to say to you. (Do people really just up and ask the price you paid? It's certainly no one's business.) I believe that any way a person chooses to express their creativity is a gift. She sounds like she has no joy. Wow. Anyway, hello!

I'm still new enough to the hobby that I don't know how susceptible the resin is to hand oils so I ask people to wash their hands first. It feels a little silly. Like, you can hold someone's new (live) baby and they don't ask you to wash your hands but here I am holding out the soap dispenser when someone wants to touch a doll... LOL