Others Handling Your Dolls

My first doll is a secondhand, twelve year old unidoll cupi. I cherish her, but I recognize she is not the most expensive or artsy or precious. My girlfriend and best friend can touch her without asking, I wouldn't mind. My family would be okay to touch it, but they probably wouldn't want to. I do let strangers handle her in public if she's out with me! She's small and lightweight, so I'm not concerned about them handling her. I only ask that they don't fuss with her wig or touch her face, because her original company faceup is still holding strong after twelve years!

 

My gf and I both love dolls, so we're on the same page as far as handling them gently. I'd probably trust another bjd owner (especially if we'd met and I'd seen how they handled their own dolls), but definitely nope to strangers.

 

I'm not really fussy when it came to this. As long as people asked first, then I'll always let them hold my doll. Most of the time they just want to take a picture with the doll, so there's nothing to be worried about. I do warned them first that it might be a bit heavy before handing it to them in case they might not expect it to be heavier than other dolls.

 

It really depends on the doll. I have a couple older tinies I use to introduce the uninitiated to bjds and brought them out with me sometimes just to hopefully advance the hobby. I've heard the "weird" comments from time to time and usually laugh unless they try to be really mean and I sometimes give them a small taste of their own medicine but I really try to take the high road. I used to work with mentally handicapped adults and things I've heard grown people say to their children about my "guys" would make your toe nails curl! Ignorant people are to be pitied (and if they take a religious high road I usually say I will pray for them as that really irritates them!!!). I don't handle other people's things without permission and expect the same courtesy. I recently had an 8 year old become mesmerized by a puki and she was so careful and happy about the dolls posing and that her hair comes off! Her mom and I had a nice chat and she will be getting a Bobobie for her birthday and they will take it from there. I forwarded some doll sites to her via text message and we may have a new collector amongst us!! Even the Mom was asking about adults collecting (I am old-going on 60 and have loved dolls my whole life but bjds are just a Holy Grail to me) and seemed interested as she loves to sew. I think you should be true to your feelings, if you will worry too much just explain your not comfortable with touching but be willing to provide info and chat a bit it's all to all our benefit and I think anyone who is at least somewhat mature (and rational-poor woman accosted in the park!!!!) will understand.

 

I remember the one and only doll meet I made it to years ago; we were in a bookstore and attracted a lot of attention (it was a Saturday afternoon iirc). All these people with gorgeous resin...and me with my little obitsu hybrid. XD At one point a group of kids came up and wanted to play with all the pretty dollies. Megumi and I (I didn't have Chaeri then) quickly came to the rescue and I let them handle and admire her all they wanted while gently explaining the other, larger dolls were too heavy to handle easily and were just there to look at. The kids were satisfied, Megumi made new friends, and the other doll owners were quietly grateful. It was a good day.

 

Initially, non-BJD hobby people handling my dolls make me feel anxious. However, if I feel I could trust the person enough to handle my dolls carefully, then it would be fine. I usually am accommodating enough to discuss some things about the hobby as well if I don't feel judged at all.

 

Only if I trust that person. And only if that person is an adult.

 

When I got my first doll it was a few days before Christmas and my mom wanted to show all her friends so I kindly asked everyone to be careful and avoid touching the face up. Everyone handled her very well and it went smoothly.

 

I'm taking my little guy with me to DragonCon, as long as people are respectful I'll be fine, if somebody tries to be grabby, expect to be kicked!

 

for me it really depends,with family and friends i dont mind becuse i know they'll be careful and i warn them not to touch specific parts if i have too and they will listen but in public its really hard cus u cant control it, the bigger,rarer/more expensive the doll the less im willing to let people touch or hold them i'll just say sorry no its really expensive but theyre ok to look as much as they like and ill turn the doll for them, if its a smaller doll then i just let them hold it i say just be careful these dolls are delicate and pricey and i asked if their hands are clean cus i dont want pizza grease on my $700+ doll, then if its a kid depending on how the kid looks i'll let them hold it but i still keep my hands on the doll just in case cus i dont want them dropping it

 

The last person who handled my DoD Kalix was my brother. Who dropped him. I was displeased.

 

It depends on the person. It also depends on the doll. I don't like people handling Peter at all. When people ask to see my dolls, I leave Peter in my bedroom and don't even mention that I own him. He was actually one of my least expensive dolls so I'm not worried about damage, I'm just super protective of him as a character and don't want people prodding and poking at him and treating him like, well, a doll. I would hate other people to pose him or play with his hair/clothes because they would make him look wrong and I can't let that happen to my Peter. I don't know if that is weird xD

With Blue, I will let people I know hold her in my own home, but I won't take her out of the house or let strangers near her because she was by far my most expensive and a limited fullset so her faceup is irreplaceable. She is usually the first one I show to friends and family because I love her so much and want to share her. However when I tell them how much she cost they are keen to hand her back!

I am a lot more relaxed letting people handle Molly. I would feel the same about Perrin, except that she has such an unruly wig and wears really loose clothing, and it's just easier to let them play with Molly instead. When my little cousin came to visit and wanted to see the dolls, i gave her Molly to hold (and did not take my eyes off her the whole time xD)

 

Some years ago now, I'd been out partying and had friends and associates back to my house. One of them found my dolls (not BJD's) and swung one around by the arm. Luckily no damage was done.

Edited because I realise I didn't answer the question. My kids sometimes handle my dolls. They know to be very careful. They only ask to get one out of the cabinet once in a while. Mine are out of view from most so they are not really seen by visitors so they don't get held by anyone else. I once lent a doll to a friend because she was interested in them. She gave it back unharmed.

 

I haven't let anyone else hold my doll yet, I'm kinda weird about people touching my possessions in general though.

 

I think I'd be hesitant to allow anyone to hold my doll. I'd only allow it if they know that it should be treated with care

 

I let people who aren't going to mistreat the doll or be disrespectful. Even then, I feel a little anxiety about it, though. With all that said, I haven't really taken any of mine out to public places.

 

Mostly thats a big nope to anyone touching my personal dolls!
But...I have a couple that I'm not really protective of that I think of as ’examples’.
At one point I was going to sell them on but I keep them because I've done a couple of doll panels at anime conventions and am the admin of a (currently inactive) local bjd meet-up group so I always used those dolls as my examples to let people touch and hold them to really get a feel for what a bjd is, the weight, how they move, the texture, the posing etc.
That said, I also pretty much do not like handling someone else’s dolls much either, I would rather the owner pose them for me...but often other doll people will just plop their doll in my lap!
We are going to be travelling and posing and photographing other people’s dolls for Comparison Heaven website soon though and you’d better believe that I'm going to be getting a set of very sturdy flat bottomed stands and securing them firmly to the surface with museum wax!

 

I don't really want anyone else touching them with the anxiety that goes with it. Most people are respectful about it anyway and I don't tend to keep friends that would disrespect my wishes. I have to trust you a lot to consider letting you touch my collection.

 

If I offer it, I don’t mind, but I’ve had instances where friends, a good friend at one time, picked them up without my go ahead and it does make me a little anxious... I really don’t mind if I’ve given permission though

 

Oooh! I haven’t been able to get on that site for ages! I’m excited to see it’s gonna be expanding, I hope I can access it again