What if you lost interest in your dolls or the hobby???

There are moments when I want to quit, and sell my dolls, but then I look at them and I really can't. X'D I am doing what everyone else has suggested and am now working on one doll at a time, getting them new clothing, face-up, and even personality. I love dolls, but sometimes I'm just not happy with the hobby anymore and I don't want to be in that funk =/.

 

I usually tend to have long periods of time when I don't play with my dolls ..but with me it doesn't mean that I've given up or gotten bored with the hobby; I just have many different kinds of hobbies, and I tend to toggle alot with them; there might be an year when I play mostly with my dolls, then next half-year spend on drawing, then play some certain game, then other game, then play with dolls again ...there's a limit to how much I can multitask ;D ...and of course, at times I just plain feel like nothing feels worth doing. But at least with me, it will eventually go away.

 

What helps me when I feel like I'm neglecting my dolls (due to depression especially) is to get out of the house!!! ((doll included))

I also developed quite an accumulation of dolls and each size has to have some overwhelming number of friends and then I think "well, if I take one I have to take them all..." That's bologna! Very recently I decided that it's too much work to take all of them, even with the tinies. So, instead, and as a reason to get out to the parks more, I take 2 dolls (3 max.) of my tinies and only 1 larger (sd) doll at a time.
I'm always equipped with a camera because I really do like sharing my photos on the forum and on flickr.

Each case of depression is different. But, if you're not getting out enough for fresh air and scenery, then I'd suggest doing it.

 

I thought about it no less than 1000 times... Very painful thoughts for me.

 

I've considered not buying any more new dolls, due to having so many difficulties with doll companies, but I would never sell them all. I might get it down to like five dolls, but I enjoy them more than I would enjoy the money created by selling them, so why do it?

 

This is good advice, sometimes when one is depressed we make decisions and then regret them later. Recently I've been struggling with some depression over various things including finishing school and the feeling of "what now"? I hadn't touched my doll in months or been on the forums and had been thinking I should get rid of everything. I was in a torpor watching lots of TV. Then a friend's 12 year old daughter came to visit and she went crazy when she saw Celine. She dressed her up and I set up some studio lights and we had a fun photo shoot. Afterwards I started looking on the forums and actually felt better as I got more active. I did a couple photo shoots on my own, wrote a short blog post and came back on DOA. Not that this has solved my problems but I'm feeling better for the activity. A couple threads on DOA made me think about my doll activities and how they relate to my life. It's definitely not the focal point of my art or existence but I think I'm realizing that it can be a creative side-line and that I do get some emotional connection out of it. Now I'm thinking about getting another doll. I only have one and am not so much into the collecting part as the photography part and felt that one was enough. As others have suggested perhaps boxing a few dolls and only having one or two out would make you feel less overwhelmed. Sometimes the desires associated with any hobby activity can seem overwhelming and lead to a feedback loop where instead of making you feel better they wear you out. As Homer Simpson would say "Stupid complicated existence!"

 

I started the hobby about a year ago and everyday contemplate leaving the hobby. Most of it stems from the guilt I feel for the money used (although I don't buy the more extravagant clothes and accessories I would like). Then that leads to feeling like I don't have the characters I really want for my dolls and so on. But as soon as I see a doll or picture that I like on Flickr I'm back to loving the hobby and get a new zest for it. Some days though I curse having discovered it. I hope someday I can let go of the guilt and enjoy it as it deserves.

 

I've felt my interest waver and wane a few times. Sometimes I get frustrated that after a year of collecting I can't seem to either find the time or develop a character to the one I have in my mind. I think I would sell most of them and keep a couple for my grad daughter for when she gets older.

 

I would probably keep them in their boxes, in the closet. But if it's just a certain doll or character, then they would probably get sold. So, they'd ever get sold or stay hidden away. I wouldn't mind handing them down to a child, but I don't have any of those and won't for a while, I don't think~

 

I don't recall ever losing interest in a particular hobby. Just found more hobbies that are somehow related, like photography, crochet, etc… *lol* But I have kept my dolls away for long periods of time when busy with other stuff. I don't think I will ever sell them though, since I'm a hoarder. ^^;; Sometimes just knowing that they're there (even in their boxes) is enough. Haha.

 

I suppose you could say I "lost interest" for a couple of years a while back... back with my last (regular) roommates, one was "afraid of dolls" (I hate to treat it like it might not have been a real thing, but she could be a bit... over dramatic... at times, and I don't know if this was one of those times or not), and the other would get snippy if I "left a project out" for more than a couple of hours (and as anyone who's done extensive doll projects knows, they can take a few days or more). Between the two of them, I did less and less with the dolls until they were just tchotchkes on a shelf. After moving out of that place, I was pseudo-homeless for a few months, with all my dolls boxed up and stored with a friend out-of-state. After I moved into that state, and had enough shelving unpacked to give them a safe place to sit, I finally reclaimed them, and while it was nice to see them out again... I still really didn't do much with them, and they just sat on the shelves.

It really wasn't until about a year ago that I decided to use my tax return to un-float a floating head... well, to do that, I needed to come back to DoA to search the marketplace for his body. But really, it was from the point where I unboxed that body for him and stuck the head down on it, that I completely fell back in and have been regularly messing around with my dolls again.

However, during that span of time, about 2-3 years, I only sold one, and not due to a lack of interest in the hobby--she just didn't fit in and, when I needed money for car repairs, all I could see of her was dollar signs, which is a sure sign it's time to go. The rest of them, I know their values, but even without interest, I couldn't see myself selling these little figures I'd invested so much time and energy in. I always knew, eventually, I'd be back.

 

I think I've reached the point that I'm not exactly tired of the hobby, I still enjoy seeing all the new sculpts coming out, but I'm going to move on to other things and just keep the few dolls that really mean the most to me and not add anymore.

 

Until earlier this year I had pretty much lost interest in my dolls. I didn't sell them, or get rid of them, or even box them up. I did however ignore them for two years, maybe more. I stopped coming on DoA and going to meet ups and just doing anything doll related. Though the oddest thing is in that cooling off time I ordered a Volks FCS which I promptly put in his spot and then went about ignoring them again. Then at the end of last month I decided to add to my collection for some reason, and my love for my dolls and interest in them came roaring back. Now I am utterly obsessed again.

 

I've never completely lost interest in my dolls, but I am struggling to maintain my passion for them. I still love them all, and I still visit DoA from time to time, and I haven't stopped purchasing stuff, but I no longer attend meets on a regular basis, I no longer photograph my dolls, I don't spend 90% of my free time immersed in doll world, so to speak... I think it's because the person who really sparked my interest in dolls is no longer involved in the hobby. We kinda had a falling out, and though we're still friends, we hardly talk at all, let alone about dolls, which used to be our main topic of conversation. I no longer have a person close by who shares my passion for them and I'm struggling to stay involved in the hobby.

That being said, I will probably never completely leave the hobby. I'm the type of person who gets very attached emotionally to my things. I've considered selling almost all of them, but have never been able to commit to actually doing it. However, there are certain I know I will never sell. I'll probably keep them all and pass them on to my children, if I ever have them :P

 

I don't see myself losing interest in this hobby any time soon. Even if I somehow did, the dolls I currently have would never be sold.

Sometimes I worry that I might be losing interest if I don't spend a lot of time with them, and there have been a few that I had been thinking of selling, but every time I pick them up to take pictures or change an outfit I fall in love with them all over again.

There have been some dolls I have sold or sent out the door that I didn't connect with, so I know it's not simply the thought of having a lot invested in resin that would turn me off the hobby, nor is it full sentimentality that keeps me holding on to the ones I have.

But every time I try to make a list of the dolls that I would never sell if I were to leave the hobby, they all make it on the list.

Most definitely my Promith and my Kle, and all of my Dollshe Bernards, and my Faeries, and absolutely my little Hogarth, and my little worked very hard to get and is still in dolly squee mode about Miluk, and Claude just looks so very sad/cute/saucy when I debate whether he fits my aesthetic, and my Giorges is just too cool, and the Jaguar I currently have as Zoro is too much fun of a sculpt to play around with, etc...
And as many times as I have tried to put my Dollshe Saint up for sale I keep getting new ideas for him and he seems determined to fit into my collection one way or another...

And that's how I know they'll never leave XD

 

I've lost interest in my dolls, but not the hobby. I was having a bit of a mental cold at the same time I think and I just suddenly didn't like any of my doll family.

So I went ahead and really planned out hard what I wanted and sold/traded most of the doll family.

I am really happy now, the new dolls I have feel more permanent, and closer to what I wanted than my old ones, I think it was just their time ^^

 

What would you do if you lost the interest in your dolls???

If I could, I would sell them... but I'm terrible at letting go of things, so I'd probably keep most all of them...

 

I would probably sell most of their accessories or clothes or pass them on to one of my friends who is starting to get into the hobby if she was interested. I think I'd keep the dolls, since most of them or going to have some sort of sentiment attached to them.

 

This is really interesting, to see what people say.

To me, being a part of the hobby isn't really about photographing my dolls or attending meetups, it's about mydolls, and what I do with them.

I don't think I'll ever really 'lose interest', because I really enjoy them as decorations, even if I'm not doing things with them. Chances are, if I ever decided to stop playing with them/ no longer felt the need to add more dolls to my collection, I'd probably just display them all. I might decide to sell some of them if I no longer felt the need to have them around, but *shrug* I don't know!

 

Certain dolls I could never imagine selling as they are important OCs of mine who have been in my head for years. I did sell two that I never really liked much but both of them were impulse buys and not carefully planned out as most of my others are. Also one of the beautiful things about this hobby is that you can completely change a doll through customizing and make a whole new character if you want, thus keeping it interesting