What about your "database" of your dolls ?

It is mostly in my head, but that is starting to get harder. I can keep track of the molds of all of my dolls, hubby's dolls and my kids' dolls as well as who did their face-ups (I did most of them myself) but keeping track of where the eyes and wigs came from much which eyes or wigs they are is much harder. I have other data bases for the characters, things like birth dates and favorite songs so I figure it is time to do this as well.

 

I have a couple of sketchy spreadsheets that I started but never fleshed out or kept up to date. Other than that, lots of bits and pieces of information all helter skelter, so it really kills me when I need to find something. Some information about each doll is on my blog, but I don't enter measurments there. I keep a price list, so I know what I paid and when. I even keep a list of names, because I always forget what I have called some of them.

I guess you could say I have some organizing to do.

 

It's all in my head. I only have three dolls, so it's not much of a challenge. I don't bother keeping track of the clothes, accessories, eyes, wigs, or their molds. This is because I have all of their original packaging and how do you forget the mold's name?

As for their personalities, background, etc., I haven't had any difficulties in recalling that information.

 

I write days when dolls arrives on the paper. It is nice to remember later the dolls ''birthdays''. All other things like names and backgrounds stories are on the Internet.

 

I keep my profile here on DoA up to date and the doll profile page on our website fairly up to date. I used to keep them in order of original arrival, but when I started re-shelling characters into newer molds I kind of lost that and the newest doll into the house gets bumped to the bottom of the profile list, even if the character had a prior shell. I don't really do much to keep track of what they wear as I can remember that on my own, but I post some of it on our website for the benefit of others who might need measurements like neck size or eye size. If I need to know what something cost or when I purchased it, I just search my email receipts. I guess I'll be in trouble if my web-based email account disappears, but I expect that anything that causes that kind of fiasco will give me bigger headaches than just five years worth of lost doll info.

 

Everything I need to know about my dolls is all in my head. I'm used to keeping entire seperate universes up there, so for now, it's working out pretty well. I don't keep track of arrival dates, and stuff like sculpt, company, eye size, wig size are all pretty obvious just looking at the dolls. Doll names, personalities, likes and dislikes, relationships, etc are all archived in my mind, though recently, it's gotten a bit crowded in here, and I had to find a way to let it out. Now I have an LJ comm with (storyline) information about all my dolls as well as related characters that I'll probably never dollify because I feel like I've reached my limit in handling dolls. OTL

 

I have a program that I think might only be for Macs but I'm not sure. It's called Bento. I have a folder that I store information in on there. I include 2 photos, one is either the company's stock image or the boxed photo that I took when the doll arrived. The other is just a photograph of the doll that I took and like and think accurately represents the doll.

I include the name I gave the doll, the company the doll is from and the type of doll that it is. I'll also include the original cost (this doll database isn't just for BJDs) and the price I paid. Product number (if there is one). Scale. The date the doll was released (applies more for non-BJD dolls). The doll's arrival date (at my house). Who I bought it from. Wig size. Eye size. Shoe size. Height. Then there's a "description" box which I'll generally copy and paste whatever information or write-up the company uses for the doll.

I told my best friend about the database and how to locate it in case something happened to me so that they would know the value of the dolls. She told me to stop being morbid. I insisted she hear me out. lol

This program lets you import and export Excel sheets as well so basically it's just an Excel database but in a much more visually pleasing format.

In case anyone is interested, this is the Bento program: http://www.filemaker.com/products/bento/

It's fully customizable so the doll database was something I created to suit my current needs. I have severe memory problems so I felt that it was safest to just build the database and include any information I thought would be important.

 

Wow April! This looks great!

I do something similar in an Excel Document. I have so many dolls now, that it helps to have a spread sheet with pertinent information. (Besides, Im a Virgo, and we love making lists! )

I also keep all my dolls boxes, and on the end of each box I have a file card with the doll's picture, and original company name, and some additional bits of info. If I have to find a doll box, it is pretty easy to do with this filing system.

 

Oh yes I do.
I have a word document with all my doll plans, and all my existing dolls information on.
Without it I would be loft with all the non yet dolly characters I have in my head Mostly cos I like finding strange names with my fantasy characters.

ANd I do have a homepage with all info about my actually dolls, with mold, wig, eyes, misc info, arrival dates and so on so on. I'm very glad to have that ^^

 

The Dutch forum I'm a member of has a special section for people to upload their dolly database. You make a thread with your own name in the title ("Puppit's doll family" or something like that), and then you post a new "reaction" for each doll, usually containing a picture of the doll, his/her name, his/her brand and model, and some information about him/her you want to share, such as the doll's background story and character.
I have two of my three dolls listed there, the third one will make her appearance as soon as I've got her fixed up (just bought her second hand). It's not required, so if you want to keep your dolls more private and just participate in general discussions without showing your own, that's fine. It's also not allowed for other people to post in someone else's database.

It's nice for other people to be able to look up something about a doll they're interested in. It comes in handy sometimes when reading a photo story to know a little more about the characters, so you don't have to ask the person who made it why the doll is doing what it is doing or what happened in the past and such. I was actually surprised such a section doesn't exist here.

 

I type mine out on word, then add them to the database here.

 

Well, I can remember everything, but I still keep on for other people and to visually organize myself. *points at sig*

Seems like it's a pretty common thing... I think I'd be troubled if I couldn't remember my own dolls though. XD

 

I have an Excel spreadsheet as a database for my BJDs. I record basic information on there such as company name, type of doll, height, eye & shoe size right down to how much I paid and where I got the doll from and when.

I have found it very useful, particularly when it comes to selling the doll on.

 

I don't have a database of those I own, since there are so few (one currently, three on the way), but I have an ongoing list of dolls I want to own.

 

I love doing Excel sheets on my dolls.
For example, I have an Excel file indicating all they cost me. That helps me keeping my doll budget approximately safe
I also record all their date of arrival, which corresponds then to their birthday.

 

I have a Google Docs spreadsheet where I itemize my doll expenses. It's getting kind of scary. >> Though now I'm thinking about setting up a simple database for the dolls themselves just so I can keep that info on file if I ever need to have it for whatever reason.

 

I have something like a database, I suppose. I store the original listings for the dolls I buy (when I buy secondhand, which is all I've done so far) in Word documents on my computer. I add notes to the end (shipping date, measurements when I get the doll, whatever else I think I'll need to note). I also save character profiles for them.

 

I used to keep mine in my profile, but lately, I moved them to an email folder. Less trouble, maybe.

 

I started writing down my dolls and info when I was obsessed with Barbies. And now I'm doing the same with BJDs - to remember the price, wigs and eyes' size, their measurements etc. have it both on PC and on paper.

 

I actually love keeping lists of my dolls. I enter them into Evernote, cos it syncs to an online account, it's also on my laptop & iphone, so I can check it anywhere. I keep lists cos I do forget some info about my dolls or just to have for eye size and that sort of info for buying items at doll shows. And it stops me from trying to remember everything in my head, by having it in a database and it's a good quick reference if you want to share some info with a friend on a doll you have for it's particulars. And if I make some dolly plans like a dress I want to make or a pair of shoes I want to buy for a particular doll, then I add that to the dolly database to keep on track of what I want to buy or create next for my dolls.