The First/Best Advice You Ever Got

Best advice huh? Probably when I found out boiling water helps get rid of small dents in resin. That actually saved me from having to buy a whole new pair of hands.

 

The 1st advice I received, "Do you want a BJD ? Why don't you go to Den of Angels forum and find more there ?" >>> and thanks God I listen to her, because I can find many things here and learn more about BJD...

And I forget who's the one that told me this, "It may be preferences, but taking photos of dolls without flash, only use the natural lighting, will show the best."

 

Oh this IS a great thread. My first experience with a whole doll in person was from the lovely person who sold me Yuki, my white DZ Megi, some three years ago. Because we were pretty close, I ran down to Denver to pick him up. And I was terrified to have spent that much on a doll at my age, and that somehow I wouldn't be able to make a connection, or would break him, or something.

She took the time to show me how to open his headcap (pre-magnets, don'tcha know) and change out his eyes... and said "I don't know why more people don't do this. Don't be AFRAID to handle them! That's how you enjoy them!"

The other advice wasn't advice so much as it was setting the stage for my understanding of the hobby. She also had a Hound in the room, and demonstrated making him look different. Changed his eyes, his wig, and his clothes. I forget what she put him in but it was being quite the struggle, and as this went on she said to him "I know you don't want to wear this right now but you WILL! BWAHAHAA! Because YOU are just a doll! a DOLL, do you hear? and you are MINE!"

I'll absolutely never forget that moment. It did two things for me: it removed the real fear I had of doing something "wrong" with the dolls, and it also gave me such a sense of how it is actually possible to form a relationship with them even though they *are* "just dolls". I took Yuki home feeling safe, happy, and excited to be starting something new!

 

That was my first piece of advice, too.

The person I bought my first BJD from suggest I join Den of Angels!
I'm so glad I did. I already love it here.

 

Two things really stick out in my mind:

"Don't let your dolls near anything resembling a Sharpie marker!"
And
"Try not to drop them often." (Well, thanks, I hadn't planned on dropping mine ever.)

 

Best advice:

1. Buy a doll you love instead of getting one just because it's cheaper. Saving up for my first doll (without having a job!) was not easy. However, since I decided to be patient and wait for Christmas, I was able to obtain most of what I needed to buy my first MSD. I could have bought a cheaper doll before then, but I probably wouldn't have loved it as much as I love my Adelheid.

2. Let's just say, "Many thanks to all the people on DoA who've made tutorials and threads for doing face-ups.

And now here's some advice for me to give:
Make sure your doll has an outfit ready for when he/she comes home! I wanted to take my doll out so bad for about a week and a half but couldn't because she didn't have clothes...

 

Best advice I got was to try not to fall in love with a pictures. And if you do, give it a couple of days and if you are still in love with the doll, then buy it. And don't be afraid to ask lots of questions! That's how we all learn

 

The best advice I ever got was from Lulu...

I think that is possibly the most narrow minded and pathetic attempt to talk someone out of a doll I have ever heard, and believe me, my family were NOT supportive so I've heard 'em all!

The bottom line in this discussion will ALWAYS be that if you have earnt the money yourself, your bills are paid and any dependants you have (children, pets, LIVING THINGS) are cared for, you have the right to spend any spare cash left over on whatever you damn well please, be it a BJD, a flatscreen tv or a new car, and no one has the right to say otherwise.

The very concept that the dolls are in some way represent some way of living vicariously through a lump of resin so that repressed esteem issues and wishes for life can be worked out of the owner sounds painfully naive to me.

Even the WETTEST of collectors will tell you that their dolls may reflect their own lifestyle choices and interests, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're "the perfect me" in resin form. It simply means that, like all art, it naturally reflects its creator.

I would have thought that the sheer proliferation of male dolls in a hobby primarly entered into by female collectors should instantly show you that not everyone is living out their fantasies in their dolls. Not all of us want to be boys, most of us just enjoy looking at them!

As for the BJD's being for children thing, that is an entirely ridiculous statement when you consider the sheer costs and skill involved in the hobby. These are not pocket money items, and no one in their right mind would just hand one to a child in the same way they would a barbie or a teddy bear.

Society views dolls as toys, and toys as items purely for children. This will always mean that those of us who collect these items will be misunderstood by those who do not, it's the result of hundreds of years of stereotyping and there's not a great deal we can do to change it. The answer that seems to work best for most people, and also, curiously, instantly nails the "low self esteem" issue to the floor, is to choose to ignore the opinions of others and enjoy the hobby you've chosen.

Try going out in public with a doll, dealing with the stares, the jibes and the hassle and then tell me this is a game for those with low self esteem. Doll collectors have the thickest skins in the world, EVERYONE takes a swing at us, in my experience, this is not a hobby built around shy, retiring people!

whenever my friends and family show their horns of unsupportiveness ...i read this....
lots of love for her ♥♥♥

 

oohhh this wasnt so much advice, as something I learned... If you have found that special dollie that has taken up residence in your head and heart, look in the galleries on DoA or (for me at least) Tdaf (for Toronto doll owners ) and try to find a picture of that doll, see if it really is the same as in the pictures. But the best ADVICE was that they really arent as breakable as you think, the owner of MFD ( ) taught me to change eyes, and I love ehr for it, now Coppelia never has the same eyes two days in a row :P

 

I didn't dive into the bjd world heavily until my second doll arrived, in fact I had had my first a couple days before I joined DoA, so I really didn't get much advice. However the two pieces I keep tossing out sem to be:

1. Only YOU can decide if the cost of the doll is worth it. Balance the long term and short term enjoyment of your doll against whatever else you might buy with that money and decide if it's worth it to you.

2. Don't buy a doll that's cheap JUST because its cheaper, that's like buying a 500 dollar clunker of a car and having it break down on you. If you are in love with a SOOM monthly then by all means BUY it, because absolutely nothing else will satisfy you or replace that doll.

 

When someone told me that Mr.Clean Magic Eraser is NOT for BATHING dolls..... How stupid i was....

 

Errrrr? Then what is it used for?

 

Not everyone will agree with this, but "Don't pay someone to do the faceup or restring him. He's your doll!" Thinking about it now, it would be weird to let someone else do something like that. =P

 

Wow what a great thread! I'm a newbie too and I have yet to be given doll advice, but i'm learning soo much from this thread!

 

The elastic will rot if you get it wet and don't let it dry. The doll itself will be fine. If you get em wet (pictures in water say) take em apart and let everything dry on out.
Grand bit of information to know if you plan on doing some pictures in a tub or lake or what not.

 

The best (and honestly only adive cause i'm apparently a hermit or something) was "Go here (insert link to DoA) it is THE forum for BJDs. Join, look around, now" XD and its helped me alot. I went from knowing one company to a whole bunch of companies. hehe. And i pass on that advice whenever i can. lol