Who do you talk to and share you BJD ideas with?

At the beginning, it was my sister. I found them first online, but she saw one in person before I did, at an anime convention. She ordered her first doll a week after I ordered mine. So she is the main person I talk to about it.

Next was my husband and parents. They aren't really into the hobby or very interested in the stuff I get excited about, but they like to see the art work I do involving the dolls, like faceups, sewing, sculpting tiny foods and creating "rooms" for the dolls.

I also joined some forums online, and most of it was just casual conversation, but I did end up becoming friends with a few people, either through transactions, discussion threads or chat rooms (wayyyyy back when JunkySpot had a chat room). I role play my doll characters, and have made friends through that too.

I've also found a local group, and once a month we have doll meets. Those are a lot of fun, and a chance to meet others just as excited as you are, who actually care about the same things.

I've found that by taking my dolls out in public, they usually spark conversation. A lot of crafty, artistic and creative people will be curious about them. My former coworkers have seen them, some were interested or amazed, others didn't care, go a few negative comments, but not too bad. You can't really always guess who will be interested or rude, either. My former boss was a "good old country boy" in his 50s, and he wanted to know EVERYTHING about the work I put into dolls, while a different coworker near my age who loved cult classic movie action figures and Living Dead Dolls said they were creepy. People are surprising!

 

I have a couple of other semi local collector's I talk to. I also talk to my husband, and even though he's not really interested he still gives me great feedback.

 

I've met a lot of friends through the bjd hobby. When I lived in South Carolina, the only friend I had outside of work was another gal who had bjds. Now that I'm back in Ohio, I'm more active in our local doll circle. Going to meetups is a great way to make a new friend or two

Also, my best friend lives clear across the country in Washington but we still Skype and text each other about our dolls. The internet is a wonderful tool n_n

 

I mainly talk to a few of my closest friends because they'll be honest about how my doll looks and they can tolerate me endlessly chatting about them.

I also will bring them into my office on occasion and my coworkers will comment on them. Even one of my coworkers who is terrified of dolls though my boys were pretty cute.

I hardly talk about my dolls to my family because then the discussion of their cost will eventually arise. I don't particularly like saying the price so I talk a little about them with family members around.

 

Usually just my boyfriend and sometimes my family, even though they aren't into dolls at all.

I also don't have any dolly friends in real life. I think it would be nice if I did... but honestly it doesn't worry me too much. I'm not a very social person anyway so I haven't made any huge efforts to make friends with others who share my interest in bjds.

 

This is a nice thread I'm in the same position when I talk to my husband, he appreciates that I like them and encourages me but sometimes I can see his eyes glazing over when I get going!

I started in the BJD hobby after being firstly into blythe dolls which my eldest sister, mum and auntie ended up getting into too.They can happily join in with dolly talk and understand why I like them and don't get freaked out about the costs either.

My eldest sister has actually made her first BJD order this year so I'll be helping her out once her doll arrives! I may be as excited as she is

 

I only talk about them with my friend Cory. She doesn't collect, but she likes them, and is always eager to see what I have that is new. She even came up with a story to go with my Genesis (Tumnus). I think she likes my doll collection because she is also a hobbyist, so she understands the mindset of a collector.

Hardly any of my friends even know I have dolls. Nobody in my family knows about it. They would disapprove if they knew. If my parents were still living, they would like them.

My room mate actually hates them, and said some very unkind things about them. So I don't let her come into my room.

 

My sister.
We both got in this hobby the same time together under the summer last year. She is the main person that I talk to about those dolls irl with and so am I for her side. She is 16 years old, her friends have other hobbys and they are not that much interested in BJDs that is the same for my friends.
So we are pretty glad we have each other in this hobby.

 

I only have my mother and doll forums, and I have a long distance friend, but life gets busy and we don't talk that often. It does get frustrating sometimes when only a bjd person would understand your passion, and you have no one to share with.

 

I mostly post about it on Tumblr, and talk to my boyfriend. He says he likes hearing about my passions and he's often a good voice of reason when I'm planning purchases. I used to talk to my mother too but recently she's been unsupportive and gets on my case with any new doll plans :/

 

Well, I only have one online friend who owns BJDs, so I sometimes talk to her about them. Other than that, I talk to my other online buddies about them. Some are interested and just like to listen to me ramble on about them. My one friend is sort of interested in joining the hobby.

 

I talk about her to anyone willing to listen.

I first showed my mom pictures and told her I was spending my hard earned and well saved money on a doll. She was very supportive. I thought I'd at least get a "Why would you do that?" But my mom thought she was cool. So I talk to her a lot about things I plan to do with my doll.

My best friend doesn't collect, but she's also supportive. I don't think she'll ever collect or be into the hobby, and that's cool. She still appreciates the art of it and is helping me look for stuff for her. I let her hold her for the first time a few weeks ago and her first response was "Wow, she's heavier than I thought."

I talk endlessly about her at work. My coworkers think I'm insane for spending so much of my time and money on her, but I proudly showed them my first face-up attempt with pictures on my phone. They think it's interesting, but not enough to really care. I think they're just too afraid to tell me to shut up about my doll. I know my one coworker is just happy that since I talk about my doll I'm not talking about minecraft as much.

I've also joined many groups on facebook so I talk about her there sometimes. I more of lurk and love buying things for her and building ideas on things I'd like to do with her. I've also joined a couple groups on dA and there's a chat on there that I frequent. The girls are friendly and while there's only a handful they're nice and it's nice to chat with someone without having to wait long for replies.

 

Wow, this is a really interesting thread! I'm a bit suprised by how open you all seem to be about this hobby. It's nice to see though! To answer the question, I, on rare occations, talk to my mum about it. My best friend knows about it, but we never talk about it. Other than those 2, no one knows that I collect dolls and I'm not planning to tell anyone else :3 I don't have any online hobby-friends either, which is kind of a pitty, but generally, I'm fine with having this hobby to myself.

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I am apart of a community on facebook. I don't comment much. I am shy. Lol. Most of the time I mention things to my husband. He either grunts at me in approval or sometimes he will speak his mind on his thoughts. He is quiet person.

 

It would be nice to have some real life friends that I could share the hobby with. I see box opening vids with friends sharing the excitement together and I get so jealous. The only person I really talk to about BJDs is my boyfriend who, despite having no interest in dolls, is pretty encouraging.

 

IRL I occasionally send my Mum a picture or two, but she lives overseas and is concerned about me wasting money and the fact that I can't do much with my dolls at the moment or sometimes talk to my boyfriend but that's it.

Online I post a few places now and then but don't have anyone specific that I talk to (which is my own fault), but right now I'm not in a position to do much doll-wise so I don't mind for the most part.

 

I talk to a lot of people about the hobby. My wife, my local meetup friends, online friends. My coworkers are even vaguely aware that I collect dolls, though I think they assume I mean Barbies. XD

 

Pretty much anybody who will listen. People who know me are used to me being weird and borderline obsessive about things I like. Plus I've been making cloth dolls for years so my place as "weird doll girl" is already assured.
Mostly it's my boyfriend though. He gets bored of hearing about them sometimes but is supportive and has good ideas for them too. I do have some friends who actively like them but we don't live in the same towns anymore. Most of my friends don't mind hearing about them a bit, or that I sometimes bring them to game night. I know a lot of creative people so they appreciate then even if they aren't super into them.