What do you tell people who dont know what bjds are?

I never thought of referring to Anya as an art doll~~ that's something I should probably do from now on as it'd probably be a better-accepted "reason" to own one TT_TT
that said, I usually say she's a ball-jointed doll from Korea and, when asked to elaborate, add "fully articulated".

 

When I was new to the hobby I tried to really explain to people what it was, but soon I discovered people really don't give rats. A doll is a doll to them, whether they have joints or not, they don't care. So I stopped explaining and when people ask me what hobbies I have. I tell them 'I like Asian dolls'. With that it's more then enough information for them. I believe if they would really want to know more, they will ask.

 

Well, do try to explain to them that they are highly customizable and they are fully jointed which allows them to have so many poses.
Although I generally love dolls and play with them all!! I think everyone has their own hobbies, and I don't need to feel uneasy if other judges me over this, with perceptions like "Dolls are for children", to me "dolls are for all^^" and everyone should have a chance to enjoy~ Cause you never will be able to satisfy the whole world, never!! So if they are not interested, I will move to other things, if they are interested, I can say more about it

 

Depending on who I'm talking to, either "They are handmade resin dolls from Asia. They're really customizable and a wonderful creative outlet." or, " They're dolls worth hundreds of dollars. Hands off."
And of course in my head, I'm like, "They're my babies."

 

My first attempts at explaining this new hobbie was met with considerable eye rolling...folks of my generation simply do not understand. So it's wonderful to be able to belong to a forum such as this.

 

"Big expensive dolls. You probably wouldn't like them."

 

"Limited-edition hand-crafted collectable dolls" usually works.

 

"BJDs are Ball Jointed Dolls, See, this is her joint,a ball joint. They are beautiful, You can even customize it!" I told my mom this while showing her a picture of my dream doll.

 

I tell them that they're ball-jointed dolls that are fully customizable!

 

Art Dolls that are hundreds of dollars of investment and fully customizable. I created everything on them. I'll even say they are like barbies for adults. xDD

 

When someone comes and wants to know what these dolls are(the latest this kind of thing happened on Monday when I had Kael with me at school and we had a english lesson and my teacher noticed him..and wanted to hear about him 8''D ), I just simply tell them that they are ball-jointed dolls, usually made in Asia and made from resin. Then, if the person gets more interested, I start to tell them about that they are pretty much customizable, and etc. :''3

 

I give them a picture of a BJD and a picture of a traditional doll. Then I let them decide what a BJD is.
I think in Chinese and Japanese they're called "ball-jointed human forms", which sounds like serious business

 

I usually tell people that they're asian dolls with ball-joints so they can move more (I like to compare them to those little anatomical wooden figures used in a lot of art classes since they're flexible as well). I also add the customization idea since that's a big thing I like about it to me.

 

I like to use the words, ART dolls and articulated, sort of a cross over out of marionettes but with all those characteristics and more. Customizable is a helpful word. That they have changeable eyes from inexpensive to major art forms in themselves, and every kind of wig imaginable for creating characters. If they are still listening ^^ or interested, that they begin as blank dolls out of molds, and that emerged from the anime "culture or art form characters" and the ones deemed to be the first of their kind came from Japan. They are made by many Asian companies but have spread in popularity and there is some overlap now of others from other makers.

 

I've only shown mine to a friend so far, and I said she was an Asian ball-jointed doll that you could pose and completely customize to your liking. She absolutely loved my doll's dress and accessories.

 

I tell them they're very expensive and customizable dolls, maybe show them how nice the ball-joints are - though I don't go much further than that unless pressed.
I know that the majority of people wouldn't agree with the price, and to avoid needless confrontation and almost inevitable disagreement, I think being brief does the job well enough.

 

So today I was in a situation where I had to describe what a ball jointed doll is to a non-doll person... And I was surprised by how hard it is to actually explain them!

What do you say to someone who isn't as open-minded if you don't want to creep them out? How do you tell people that it's so much more than just collecting "dollies" - that there's a whole load of creative things you can do with them? (see, that sounds a little weird, right?)

I wonder if anyone else has this problem, or if I'm just caring too much what other people think. ^ ^;;

 

I tend to describe them as 'resin art dolls, made in Asia, strung with elastic and jointed to be fully posable' and explain that they're a creative outlet, that you can paint their face and body and photograph them. Usually I get something like 'oh, like collecting porcelain dolls?' as a response, to which I say 'well, kinda, but also kinda different'. That's usually as far as it goes. People seem to be used to adults collecting porcelain dolls, so if I describe BJDs in a way that clicks to that concept in their mind, they don't seem to regard the hobby as all that odd.

 

I usually keep it a shorter version of that, either "customizable art dolls" or "resin art dolls from Asia." I don't go any more in depth unless the other person actually becomes interested, and even then I always frame it as artistic or creative, rather than being Barbies or porcelain dolls. (I have nothing against either; my stepmom collects a different type of doll in fact, but if the conversation reaches the point of price, it's best to have that heavy emphasis on "artistic" ahead of it. It always seems to frame the prices as a little more reasonable if they're already being thought of as an art piece instead of a toy.)

 

customized is a word most people relate to - Asian bjd are hand made, to order, and they're customizable - so you can change their hair, their eyes etc. They're more expensive than normal toy dolls because they're designed by artists and have to be imported from Asia