Perception of BJDs in other doll circles

how is porcelian better then resin?

I'll go upstairs grab a porc. doll and take one of my resin boys *julian cause that boy can withstand anything*

and I bet that if both take a dive off a table julian *he's doneit before* will be fine and the other... will be broken.

*hugs* stupid old hags, their just jealous.

 

What a fascinating topic!

I agree with most of the posters who say that Fashion Doll people, in general, are much more accepting and enthusiastic about ABJD, than ABJD people are of them, and Fashion dolls. Keep in mind that a whole lot of us became interested in ABJD after having been active in Fashion dolls and remakes for awhile.

I am still quite active in Fashion Doll remake circles, though I have not been a "collector" of fashion dolls all that much so can't speak from that angle. Regardless, I have some observations. Fashion doll people in general, don't play with their dolls alot. They use them to display intricate fashions that they often pay alot of money to have by well known fashion doll designers and seamstresses. In fact, the doll is almost secondary to the fashions, so consequently, they are less likely to spend alot of money for a doll (though nice repaints sell for $300 and up), than they are to spend a chunk of change for a really elaborate and well-executed fashion.

It's really just a different kind of enjoyment of dolls, with somewhat different priorities. Also, (just my HO), most Fashion doll people are put off by the anime look of many ABJD, so until there were more realistic sculpts availible, they just had little interest in owning an ABJD. That is all changing now however, and many Fashion doll people are loving the more realistic BJD, and are buying them with a far greater frequency.

 

I think with the ABJD community being less accepting of other dolls you have to remember that a lot of us didn't come into the hobby having previously been into other kinds of dolls, so their aesthetic doesn't appeal to us the same way as the anime look might not appeal to those that collect fashion dolls.

Using myself as an example, while I have nothing against fashion dolls etc they just don't float my boat so I would never go near those communities in the first place. I would never berate someone for liking them though, and tbh those that do (on either side of the fence) need to take a long hard look at themselves.

 

I collect a lot of other doll types, quite varying. I think in general, as most people have stated, they appreciate the concepts and asthetics of the customizability of BJD, even if they themselves don't own or want any. Really the only attitude I've seen was in artist doll forums that have only seen limited older photos/dolls- like Volks's original faceups or the really extreme gothic style and assumed the whole genre was like that and didn't appeal to them. I think the price-range in general tends to make doll collectors take another look, because they know cheap dolls usually are cheap. Other toy and model hobbyists that are unfamiliar with something costing more than $20 are disgusted without investigating.

 

I started out collecting the 18-20 inch fasion dolls from the late 50's- Madame Alexander Cissy, Revlon dolls, American Charactor Toni/Sweet Sue Sophisticate, Horsman Cissy, etc. They are the dolls from my childhood. Someone on my doll group bought a dollfie about five years ago. I looked into them but it seemed so scary because you had to put them together and it looked really complicated, and they did look like Aliens to me.
I made doll clothes and did these complicated photo story auctions for ebay. Then got too busy to do any doll-related stuff.
Fast forward to December 2006. A friend of my daughter's mentioned these dolls he had seen that were amazingly lifelike. I knew what he was talking about, got online, and before I knew it had ordered an Obitsu Gretel (because of the price). That was it- I was hooked because of the posability of these wonderful dolls and how great they are for photostories. Since then I have added Elfdoll Red, Obitsu Haruka, Dollzone Feilian and BB, and have an AOD Chen on the way. Wishlist is Elfdoll Soah and Supia Roda.
One thing I do really like about the BJD community is that it attracts "non-doll" people- that is, people who are just in it for the creativity opportunities BJDs offer.

 

Kai, that comment of yours was both extremely rude and inappropriate. Please moderate your tone, or we will be forced to moderate it for you.

 

I kind of sidled into ABJD collecting through the following circuitous route:

Plushie collection --> making my own stuffed animals/ soft sculpture --> MLP customization --> making Art Dolls --> ABJDs

So, I can't really say much about other kinds of doll collectors, as I've never in my life collected dolls before.

I suspect that the most snobbery probably comes from the Art Doll makers and collectors (or possibly I'm just the most familiar with this facet of the doll world). This may partly be because a lot of people call their BJDs "art dolls", which some artists find slightly irksome, as most BJDs are not OOAK, entirely handcrafted creations, which is what the Art Doll scene is supposed to be all about. I'll admit that it kind of threw me for a loop at first as well, but I got over myself

(This is not to say that a ton of creative energy doesn't go into each BJD, just that I personally would not classify most of them as Art Dolls.)

Still, I like to imagine that most adults who still collect/play with toys are easygoing, tolerant sort of folks. Don't know if that's the truth, but I like to think so.

 

In general, I haven't found much hostility towards BJDs among other doll collectors. Some are fascinated by them, some are only fazed by the price point & for some they're just not their cup of tea.

A friend & I have been giving programs on BJDs for several local dool clubs. 99% of the people there had never heard of them before & were very receptive to them. They saw them as another new aspect to doll collecting.

Many of the people now collecting BJDs have come from a fashion doll background & I often find that BJD collectors who don't come from a doll background are less tolerant of other doll collectors than other collectors are of BJDs. I think that comes somewhat of BJDs being a fringe group of collectors for a such long time that they can't see it as just another area of doll collecting which it has definitely become with all the fashion doll & artist doll folks moving into the arena. It's not an exclusive little club anymore & it makes sense that fashion doll & artist doll enthusiasts have moved into the field. BJDs are so customizable & fun to dress that the fashion doll folks enjoy them & many of the dolls are true pieces of art so the artist doll folk enjoy them for their unique sculpture.

Coming from both aspects myself as well as an antique doll background, I find BJDs to be the fulfillment of all my interests rolled into one. They're highly "playable" yet have a variety of unique & beautiful faces & some I look at as real art. I think most non-BJD doll collectors can relate to one or more of these aspects.

 

Most of my experience with non-BJD doll-folk comes from attending doll shows. A few years ago, before BJDs were a presence in "mainstream" doll magazines, most of the people at doll shows had no idea what kind of doll I was carting around. I got lots of questions and the great majority were quite friendly. There were some comments about Myri looking "alien" or "odd", but I just said that her face was "stylized, like those Japanese cartoons. You know, Pokemon and stuff like that." A gross oversimplification, of course -- and incorrect, as Myri is Korean-made -- but it seemed to help the non-BJDers "visually understand" her.

After BJDs started showing up in Haute Doll regularly (mid-2005), I started noticing some changes at doll shows. Most people were still friendly, curious, and had no idea about BJDs. Occasionally, though, I would overhear comments as I passed about, "Oh, that's one of those Chinese ball-dolls. I just hate them!" Also, there were a few more comments about her being scary/creepy, as opposed to alien/odd. While the negative reactions were more negative than before, there were still only a few people having them (although oddly, most were vendors at the show). And then there were the positive reactions ... first a loud shriek, followed by someone rushing up and saying, "OMG that's one of those dollfie things! I've never seen one in person, only online. What kind is she? Where did you get her? Was she hard to order How much did you pay? Is it hard to find clothes for her?" Always fun to meet new doll people!!

Nowadays, nearly everyone at the doll shows are polite about BJDs, even if they don't really like them. Most people know what they are (even if they still tend to call them dollfies or Super Dollfies generically). People tend to ask questions like, "Is it true you can change her hair?" Always fun watching somebody's face the first time they see a doll's wig being ripped off. Also, there is usually at least one person at the show who has BJD-specific items. (Woo-HOO!)

Oddly, one of the biggest changes I've noticed at doll shows is that the people at the ticket desk now have a procedure in place to deal with people who want to bring dolls into the show.

 

For the most part I have found no hostility. The exception to this has been with my local HARDCORE Barbie collectors. Now note, they don't play or pose their dolls, they don't change the clothes, alter ANYTHING and some don't even un-box their collection.
They seemed horrified I paid GOOD MONEY for a blank doll... especially since the joints were so, um, visible? They also didn't like that she didn't look perky like a cheerleader, it seemed to really bother them.
Other than that, not much hostility. Just local ladies with boxed Barbies. =)

 

I haven't met with any real hostility from other collectors, just shock at the price for a blank doll, and some seem uncomfortable with the fact that they're anatomically correct. That seems to throw them more than the price.

 

I got into BJD's via fashion dolls. While I was still into fashion dolls more I was also gettng more and more into small scale jointed doll. I would post things about the faceups on 1/6 dolls and all the fashion doll people would ohhh and ahhh over them and how cool they were and fun. I never heard a negative comment about any type of BJDs of any size on a fashion doll forum. Considering some Tonner repaints go for $700 I don't think BJDs are that expensive comparatively.
I can say that since I have been on BJD forums I have heard negative comments on fashion doll repaints -not a ton- and normally from people who don't care about hurting others feelings. I found painting fashions dolls great practice for moving onto BJDs which can be a bit scary to paint at first since they are more pricey. Personally I love that they come blank, gives me more to work with

 

I agree with most that I hear more negativity from this side of the fence than from the other. I also agree one of the reasons is because ABJD's attract people who are not into other dolls.

I myself have collected dolls all my life and though now I only have Pullips and some older porcelain's in my possession, besides my ABJD's I still appreciate other kinds of dolls and like to read the articles on them in doll mags.

 

I actually discovered BJDs via OT posts on various fashion doll boards and websites of people who collected both. As most of the doll boards I've been on have been related to either Japanese dolls or expensive dolls that people like to customize, I've found BJDs to be very well received.

 

To be honest, while I've never collected any other type of doll except for BJDs, I was an avid Barbie girl growing up (and I never actually had any Barbies, mostly her buds Teresa and Christy and some GI Joes). When I was old enough to realize that Barbie could be collectable, I drooled over the catalogues until my eyeballs fell out and begged my mom for just one collectable Barbie, just one and I promised that I would never play with her and never destroy her as I had done with my other dolls.

My mom said no. Thus I was stuck with catalogues and no dolls. Then I discovered Aimee's Super Dollfies after being a huge fan of her artwork and almost to spite my mom and to satisfy my curiosity(which now that I look back seems like an incredibly dumb and dangerous reason for spending that much money)I saved up for and purchased my first doll.

While I still find fashion dolls (especially Silkstone Barbies) that make me flip, I find that my true interests lie in the creativity that comes with BJDs and I think other people in other doll communities understand this though I highly doubt that it works the other way around.

 

I used to collect Jenny Takara dolls a few years back. I remember getting a lot of backlash from BJD owners. Usually because not all of my Jenny dolls had a poseable body or weren't as customizable. I always got a sense that people looked down at my dolls because they weren't as high quality. I took a lot of resentment to that, especially when online stores started taking out their Jenny doll and clothes to make room for BJD dolls and clothes. That might have been a reason I stopped collecting as well, it became harder and harder to find Jenny related things. I believe her popularity went down because of BJDs.

I don't know if she ever made a comeback, but I love my Jenny dolls and I love BJDs, so it's all good in my book.

 

Really. That's weird... where was this?

I ask because a lot of BJD people came into the hobby from Takara dolls. One of the founders of DoA is also the founder of what used to be (probably still is?) the biggest English-speaking Takara doll group/club out there. She also had the most comprehensive English Jenny site around. That you would get backlash from BJD owners for collecting Takara dolls is... dumb.

 

It was mostly from con going people who happen to have stumbled upon bjds, not necessarily doll people. I find the perception is usually different. I think now people know better, but before it seemed like bjds were like new handbags and I had last season's, you know what I mean?

 

I was on an American Girl board and it seemed that most people thought they were very pretty. Some people were very interested in them, considering to actually buy one, some people thought they were outragously priced. While some people didn't seem to grasp them at all. They were some rude comments about while the dolls are lovely, its the fangirls/fanboys and how much ridiculous money they drop on them that is so..... (doesn't remmerb actual adjective) Which I thought was pretty rude.

I think that the Paula Goodrua dolls were a bid hit with alot of them because they come in vynl and are cheaper.