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What makes a doll "OOAK"?

Aug 8, 2010

    1. I really am confused that this is such a seemingly confusing issue. "OOAK" literally means 'one of a kind'. Whether something is OOAK or not doesn't inherently imply added value, though, and that seems to be where it seems some confusion is coming from, since something being OOAK is more common in this hobby than something that isn't, in the end.

      I see it this way: every doodle on a napkin I do is OOAK. That doesn't mean it has any added value, and instead could make the napkin worth even less.
       
    2. You said it very well Surreality! I completely agree. Sometimes you can mess something up really bad by making OOAK.
       
    3. The One of a Kind status of most all dolls is what draws people to this hobby. Because they're so customizable and you get to make what you want real makes them desirable. With that said I believe that a face-up can make a doll one of a kind. I agree that a factory Face-up isn't exactly one of a kind, but if you sit for hours in your bedroom or anywhere for that matter and give your doll that special face that you've been wanting forever, even if it's not entirely perfect and it will rub off or it'll somehow crack and flake, it's still one of a kind because it came from your mind... from your heart even. That's what makes it one of a kind. Sure sanding and changing the wideness of the eyes is making it more special, but even if you don't change the original sculpt it's pretty much OOAK.
       
    4. Please forgive me if this post is repetitive or rehashing. But:

      OOAK is a term that should really only apply to a fashion doll and do not represent the abjd world. Fashion dolls are meant to be collectible. When doll artists started popularizing the notion of "OOAK" fashion dolls, they used it to promote the fact that the doll had all its factory stock removed to make it a completely original, new creation. Most fashion doll collectors do not collect those dolls for them to be OOAK dolls or ever intend for their stock to be removed, nor does the original company, so OOAK became a pretty popular fad within that hobby.

      ABJDs are readily made customizable whether the buyer intends to customize them or not, and can at any time be modified. To say that your bjd is OOAK is almost a moot point. That kind of label or selling promotion just doesnt "fit" into this category and seems almost a little ridiculous because ball jointed dolls are in no way akin to fashion dolls. If you are intending to sell a unique fashion doll, then by all means, go ahead and apply the term OOAK wisely. But anyone can easily render their abjds to personal tastes because that is their purpose in this niche of doll hobbying - to reflect their owner's personal taste. They simply fill a completely different category than what fashion doll repaints do.

      I also don't necessarily think that going to great lengths modifying the sculpt (sanding, carving, ect) of your bjd makes them any more "special" either.
       
    5. I think that is definitely something people would keep in mind. Especially when trying to promote their dolls with, say, a custom face-up, in the marketplace. To you (general you), that custom face-up means dedicated time and effort, and you want extra cash because it's unique and no other doll has anything similar. To me as a potential buyer, it means I'm not paying extra just for a face-up I'm most likely going to wipe clean when I get the doll at home. And if that face-up, no matter how well done, was made with poor materials (oil-based paints/pastels, Sharpies), you've just ruined the resale value of your doll.
       
    6. I think the problem here is that people see OoaK and think of the fact that most bjds can be customized to look like that. However, if you look at it from the company's perspective they won't ever copy that doll again, to the company that doll is One of a Kind. Even though you can make a stock doll look like a OoaK doll, it still wasn't sold to you that way. You bought a stock doll. And that's where you have to look at as far as the terminology goes. I, also, think that's why Volks uses the term One-off. Yes, most BJDs become OoaK once a new faceup is added *but* again the company didn't do that. And whilst I know companies do custom makeup, they also never promise not to copy they're previous faceups they've done for other customers, but they probably would never redo a OoaK.
       
    7. Actually, some companies will redo limited faceups.

      Also, in most doll hobbies, OOAK dolls are created not by the company at all, but by a customizer who bought a basic doll to recreate with a unique garment, a reroot, or a repaint can make a doll OOAK, and the company has nothing to do with any of that whatsoever. There are plenty of OOAK Barbie dolls, for instance; just glance over eBay and you will find them by the truckload. Did Mattel make any of them OOAK? I bet you wouldn't find a single one.

      The issue of permanence isn't anything more than a continuum. Someone can copy that one-off from Volks and that doll is no longer visually unique. Someone could wipe the faceup, sell the wig and eyes and clothes from the one-off, and it would be no different from a standard stock doll from the same company. Something can be one of a kind today, and commonplace the next, or vice versa. Something being one of a kind is not necessarily a permanent state of being.
       
    8. I agree with this wholeheartedly. Something that seems to cause confusion at times it that limited status (however limited that might be), rarely rests on the sculpt. The whole issue of rereleases being a case in point -- the rerelease maybe of the same sculpt, but the outfit, faceup, perhaps even skin tone will be different. In this hobby, things like faceups and oufits contribute greatly to how unique a doll is. It makes sense too -- with all of the planning, effort and money it takes to create and cast an entirely new sculpt, only making one doll doesn't make a lot of sense for the company. To do so would also undoubtedly cause the price to skyrocket.
       
    9. Right, I agree *but* I don't think I made my point as clear as I thought I did. My fault there. What I'm saying is that OoaK is term that's based on individual perspective not overall perspective. No, Mattel didn't make that OoaK doll, but they do authorize the sale of it, and you can bet they won't authorize another doll that looks exactly like the one they just sold as OoaK. Companies made redo limited faceups, but they won't redo the entire doll. So from their perspective when they use the term OoaK, they mean it. And whilst it really has very little meaning to the community at large, it meant something to the people that made it?
       
    10. I've seen the OOAK description so many times on ebay when looking for dollshouse props. I thought it was some official authentication of something handmade until I read this discussion but it seems it can mean anything that's not 'bulk standard'.
      Miniturists apply it to genuine one offs where they have sourced materials themselves and their creation is totally hand made. I've also seen people describe something they've made from a standard kit describe it as OOAK! I guess as the term is open to such wide interpretation its a case of 'buyer beware'!
       
    11. In all seriousness, it is just an abbreviation meaning 'one of a kind', like any other acronym. It doesn't necessarily mean there is an added value, or any guarantee it will remain one of a kind forever.

      Most of the one of a kind items I've seen in various doll collecting subgroups are customized by hobbyists and not the companies -- if I had to guess, I'd say it's mostly because in mass produced dolls, it's usually just not cost-effective for the company to put in the development work to create a one of a kind doll. With BJDs, we actually do see the occasional one of a kind fullset put out by one of the companies -- Volks does it, a few other companies seem to do the same -- and I'd bet it has something to do with the fact that they're usually making smaller quantities of the dolls to start with, and the sale price is considerably higher. It's closer to art doll production in that sense. When a lot of things are being done in small quantities and by hand anyway, making 'this one special one' is considerably easier for the original manufacturer to do.

      I haven't actually seen any OOAK Barbie/Gene/Tonner/mass-produced dolls that were being sold by the manufacturer, or any that are formally 'authorized' except in a very abstract way at an opera-themed charity auction for Tonner Model series dolls a number of years ago in Washington D.C., that Robert Tonner attended, and even those weren't done in house -- though he did donate the dolls from what I remember, for them to be customized by a variety of designers.
       
    12. Well no it doesn't at all. You're absolutely right, there's no added value with the statement nor permanent meaning. As I said though I think the term is more relative and less concrete. In the doll collecting world that is. The term only has meaning and value to the person who's calling the doll one of a kind. It's like some cool mod you see on a doll, how long goes before somebody mods a doll to look just like that one? I think there's a lot people like the idea of having a doll being completely original and individual *but* that's never going to happen.


      I have.... Home shopping networks err >-> There's nothing on late night TV sometimes ><
       
    13. What makes a Doll OOAK?............

      I think a 'true' OOAK doll is just that...One of a kind..... just one! A completely original art doll...made by an artist....and only being one in the world ;)

      I have such a doll (ABJD 85cm)....by Japanese Doll Artist Miyuki Hirose..... My doll is the only one of her kind in the world, a true OOAK....:)

      On the other hand, I have a Dollmore Lusion Dahlia 80cm that I have modded (her mouth) I could call her OOAK, but only her mouth is different....so she has a OOAK mouth that's all....She is not OOAK.....

      So, to me, OOAK means ONE....the only one!

      Cheers!
      xen :)
       
    14. Erm... English is not my first language, so when I first saw the "OOAK" thing, I was sure it was a brand :D

      That said, it has never meant anything to me, so I guess what makes a doll one of a kind is us. Us working hard and saving to buy them, us excitedly waiting for them, us taking the time to give them a faceup, or simply admiring the default one, us buying or sewing their dresses and spending hours looking for the perfect wig, eyes, shoes...

      We are what makes them one of a kind.
       
    15. A OOAK implies there have been none before and there will be no additional ones in the future. This can apply to an outfit, the doll or both. If it is only the outfit, then the outfit is OOAK. Same for a doll. If the doll and outfit are OOAK, then you can refer to the entire piece as a OOAK, otherwise one part of the set is OOAK, and the other is part of an edition. ie., you could have a OOAK doll with a limited edition outfit or a OOAK outfit on an edition doll.
       
    16. I say, if the doll companies themselves can make a single outfit for the doll, and paint it's face differently from the way they normally do, and call it OOAK, then so can customizers and modders. The real difference there is that the company, and likely a very popular artist created the work.
      Don't confuse OOAK with valuable or worth owning. A custom faceup is definitely one of a kind. Yes, you can wipe it off, and find a normal sculpt underneath, but until you do, no other doll has that face. But again, that doesn't necessarily make it valuable. People are going to use the term in an effort to drive up sales, but even if you think a single custom faceup isn't worth the price, that doesn't make it a commonly owned faceup.
       
    17. The definition of a OOAK is difficult as the terms use varies within different types of dolls and doll communities. With most fashion dolls as reroot or repaint is definitely enough, but there was a similar depaint in the Sybarite forums last month and there the definition was different again - a OOAK is only a one-of-a-kind doll created by the original artist - others should be called repaints. With BJDs the matter is even more difficult as the dolls are made to be personalized with face ups, wigs, outfits and mods. In that sense they go closer to the art dolls category that, again, has it's own definition and standards that you can find here:

      http://www.odaca.org/standards.php
       
    18. I feel like almost every doll is OOAK.

      Other than the dolls left with default eyes, wigs, outfit and painting, odds of someone getting the same wigs, outfits, and eyes, even faceups, is kind of small. And really, if you get into detail, technically the faceup won't ever be exactly the same, because they're hand painted. But default stuff is where I kinda draw the line.
      Anything non-default in combination makes the doll OOAK in my opinion.
      I know that no one has the same exact dolls as me, so they are- in my opinion, one of a kind.

      As for labeling a doll as simply OOAK in the marketplace, I'd rather see something like: "w/ elf ears", "dyed tan", or "gore mods."
       
    19. Actually the term "one of a kind" is used in all forms of crafts and other hand made and modified goods from jewelry to weaponry.

      As everyone else has already said, any doll that has alterations that no other doll will have can be considered "one of a kind". As was already said this doesn't always mean that it increases the value. However to the OP - a specific faceup that will never be on another doll is one of a kind.

      Almost everyone's doll in this hobby is one of a kind even if what makes them so isn't dramatic or immediately noticeable. Sometimes it's just the story behind one that makes it one of a kind.
       
    20. OOAK, to me, means something that it would be difficult to replicate. If someone does a mod that's highly unique and special, it would be hard for someone else to do the exact same thing. For faceups, maybe people should specify "OOAK faceup" to indicate that it's a highly unique faceup, but they're still OOAK in a way.