Paring Down. Less is more?

I'm in the process of selling off my OT dolls. I have one mini bjd at home, two 1/3 dolls on the way, and then I'm calling it done! (But this is part of a larger decluttering/consolidation effort on my part. Stuff takes up space, demands energy, and so I'm making sure I only keep things that I truly love and that have meaning for me.)

 

I go through phases of buying up and selling down.
I really enjoy having ONE doll more than any other number, but unfortunately I can never seem to make that stick. :P
Smaller dolls, like pukis, are fine in groups, but I think that's because I don't feel guilty if they're naked! :P

 

No, I never get intimidated by the size of my toy collections. I like to look at them en masse, which is why I started a collection in the first place. I wanted a roomful of dolls. Their combined presence is just so cool. Every time I walk into the living room, it's like happening upon a really interesting party that's been going on without you all night.

But dress/modify/photograph/play with one doll at a time... whomever I feel like I'm really into at the moment.

It's not like they're going to get bored with me & run away if I don't play with every single one of them every day, anyway. I don't have the kind of free time required to bother with that! There's 31 dolls, and I have a day-job & a social-life to keep.

 

I think a lot for me depends on how close I purchase them together. I've got 10 at home right now in various sizes, but I've been collecting for 7 years. So while it seems like a lot, and looks like a lot, each was more or less finished and had a basic, working wardrobe before the next came home. I've noticed that if I don't give myself 9-12 months between dolls in order to "finish" them, I always end up enjoying one of the newbies less and I ultimately sell them. I think it helps a lot when they don't all come in at once like a resin swarm! However, I'm currently debating scrapping wardrobes and starting over in a different direction.... with all 10, which is causing me some stress since that's a lot to try and move out, and a lot to try and sew to recover! Only in instances like that do I look them over and wish I had fewer, however I know that unless there were some dire circumstances I would find it so hard to sell any of them!

 

When I first got into this hobby I was like : "I wanna have a huge collection! At least 30" -that was my foolish goal.Now I`m starting to realize that if i`ll hve that many dolls I`ll probably won`t really enjoy them as much.So I decided I`m only gonna get the ones I really like. Because I also use to see a doll at someone and hear about how great it is , and want it.Just cause thay thaught it`s pretty.Of course , I thaught it was pretty to , but I never fel in love .
And I`m only gonna omplete my OC and then kinda stop...By the way , I have 6 right now, and currently saving for aDollmore Zaoll, and I agree with the Less is more concept .


Oh and I have a question that`s verry off topic , but I don`t know where else to ask it : Do any of you guys know any zaoll thread ? I couldn`t ind any in the DM databese or by searching..Help?

 

I think of your doll room as an art installation, with many parts making up a harmonious whole.

 

Thanks! I kinda think of it that way, too. Sort of like an exhibit of The Eternal Party.

The 'exhibit' may startle some visitors at first, but even the most skittish visitor soon loosens up & mingles around & peers more closely at what everybody's wearing-- just like at a party. ^^ I enjoy watching people's different reactions to the display, almost as much as I enjoy the combined presence of all those dolls together.

 

JennyNemesis, in your instance, I don't think the question of paring down would enter into it, because the room itself is a whole, united the way any party would be united ... there will be one common point of reference (you, the host), and radiating from that, individuals, pairs, small groups of friends or allies; enmities, crushes, admirations, rivalries. (Just like real life!)

If I were to have many dolls, I'm afraid it would be just ... many dolls. Clutter, plain and simple. But the two girls I've got coming in are my harmonious pairing, like a pair of household gods. And the Marnster is just my bud.

(Besides, I told Mr. polyhymnia this very morning that I was satisfied with three, and he gave me one of those looks; so unless I want him to mock me mercilessly, I'd damned well better be done!)

 

You both bring up a good point-- some of us with mad huge collections also like to think of it as a public service, of letting other people enjoy them vicariously. This way you don't have to stuff your own houses with dolls & wonder what it's like! I will do it for you!
I don't mean to give anybody heart attacks, but I live near a few folks who have much larger collections than my mere 30... and I absolutely love visiting their houses, for the same vicarious reason. :> Like going to a museum.

It is definitely a personal taste, being custodian to so many dolls... and people never seem to feel halfway about it. Either you're really into it, or really against it. Sort of like black jellybeans.

 

I salute you for falling on that grenade!

 

I also agree! While I can't stand to own too many dolls myself - I love being able to oogle collections like yours JennyNemesis! So many gorgeous big boys It's great - I love SD and boy dolls but I just cant seem to own them. ^_^ We live vicariously through wonderful owners like you!

 

I tend to think a small amount of dolls is good... and I have noticed a trend that the people who have really -awesome- dolls tend to have very few.. I have two dolls (well.. one has been floating for almost a year after a year of having a body -sigh-) who are nowhere near complete so it's not as though I have nothing to do... but I still find myself looking at other dolls, anthros specifically... I kind of want a tiny who is easier to carry around... besides, I just like cats.. that they are BJD cats is just a plus ;D

 

For me it's not really an issue, because I get my dolls in pairs and they 'rotate' when it comes to getting attention. Maybe it's because for two years, I was perfectly content with only my two dolls, then I got more so kind of..subconsciously tried to model them to the same way of collecting when I did when I had only two?

Sometimes, I'm crazy about my first two, taking them to meetings, making new clothes for them, getting them new face-ups..sometimes I'm crazy about my Muse and Byeoul, who are a set, sometimes about my Seimei and Glorydoll..etc. It doesn't really have a schedule or something, it just happens. That way, I don't feel like I have too many dolls, just as long as none are left without a 'partner(who can also be part of another set as well)'.

But then again, I have collected 9 dolls in more than 5 years(the 10th is incoming), so maybe my super slow collecting(compared to most people on the board who get to this number a looooot quicker!)may have something to do with it XD

 

I honestly don't feel there is any such trend. The "really awesome" dolls are just as likely to belong to someone with a large collection as they are to a small one. There are many people with large collections who may concentrate their photographic efforts on a small group of their dolls which might give the impression to the casual DoA observer that they only have a few dolls when that's really not the case though.

 

Hmmm, good question.
The number of dolls I have bought over the years (been in the hobby since 2003) greatly exceeds the number of dolls that actually stuck around.
Right now I have 7 dolls that will absolutely never ever go anywhere but my home, because the feel just right being here.
Not all the dolls I will buy in the future will stay on board, that much I know about my way of collecting now. It all comes down to fitting in with the rest and bonding with a doll. I don't care about how much or how little dolls I have.
If I feel there is a "hole" to be filled in my collection, I'll fill it, if not, I'm content with the dolls I have right now.
That's why I don't have a wishlist. I build my collection with dolls that have a certain character trait or emotion, and if I feel I miss a trait or emotion, i will go endless nights browsing until I find the doll that fits the bill. Could very well be a doll I never heard of before.
But the 7 dolls I have right now fit together like pieces of a puzzle, so I couldn't even let one of them go.

 

I feel that after a few years in this hobby and trying different things I now have a better grasp on what I like. I'm someone to try different things so I ended up with a lot of different kinds of dolls. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't, but I've also noticed that something that was what I wanted a few years ago doesn't have to be what I want now. My taste and wants evolve and change.
Right now I like having a large collection that I split up in smaller parts (feels like having a small collection, but with "new" dolls coming in now and then.) Maybe this will change in the future making me want to make my collection smaller, but for now I like what I have.

 

That's a lovely thought. Can I come to your house for a visit??
Unfortunately I've never been able to witness a large collection in person,
only little glimpses online. I would happily pay an entrance fee to see some
members beautiful dolls.

I'm at a crossroads with my own collection. One week I'll think about selling
them all, then I'll come across a new sculpt and go "I want it!!!"
Fortunately my lack of $$ helps keep my collection in check, right now and for
the foreseeable future
So for now I'll enjoy them to the best of my abilities, which basically just involves
looking at them from across the room But I do see downsizing my dolls
to possibly just one....although for the life of me I couldn't choose that ONE doll
from my collection...so perhaps I don't have it yet. The hunt continues?

 

I'm finally getting to a point where I am really happy with all of my dolls and would be hard pressed to find ones among the group I could sell off easily. My collection is currently the largest it's ever been and is still growing.

I occasionally have house cleaning urges where I sell off a bulk of dolls. A couple of years ago I sold 6 YoSDs in the course of a month because I realized I had too many of them and it's not a size I particularly like, I just somehow kept acquiring them. And then I used the money from their sales to buy more large dolls.

I do agree with Arkady that prob a lot of people own more dolls than you would think. I know based on the numbers of photos I take you would think I owned maybe 3, not 12. Hell, my fave doll I hardly ever photograph. I like having the option of photographing the others if I ever feel like it. I don't think I would ever actually be happy with a smaller collection.