Would you go to a physical BJD store?

I almost did, until I called to make sure they were open (they were an hour away), and I was told that the shop was closed while the owner moved stores. I live in a super small town, so I'm very hopeful that she'll open the store again somewhere close by to me. haha.

 

I have been to a few non BJD doll stores over the years and always really enjoyed visiting them. A friend of mine even used to have her own small physical store selling vintage dolls. Visiting a physical BJD store would definitely be a really cool experience!

 

Would you go to it? 100% yes, although I may not be comfortable going in alone. I would probably have to make my wife come with me. I am a bit old school and prefer brick and mortar stores because I like to see everything in person before making a commitment to it. You don't get the same experience shopping online as you do seeing it in person.

What would you expect to find there? Dolls hopefully

What would you want it to have? Aside from having the dolls themselves, I would hope it would have wigs, clothes and maybe even option parts for them. It would be a good idea for them to have spare frame parts too or in the case of BJD, the elastic bands you'd use to string them with. It would probably be most beneficial for the business to have all the care needs for BJDs in store.

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too? Yes. An all around general hobby shop is a fantastic idea. We have some around Minnesota that I enjoy going to called Hub Hobby. Though they don't have BJD stuff, they have other major hobby stuff like puzzles, crafts, toys, RC cars/aircraft/boats, Gundam, model kits, trains, etc. If a store like this incorporated stuff like BJD, it might even reach other audiences that didn't know about them or have never seen them in person before. It could increase the size of the BJD community tremendously.

 

Would you go to it?
Yes! (And I have actually been to a couple!)

What would you expect to find there?
Dolls, clothes, and shoes.

What would you want it to have?
The above + eyes, wigs, furniture, & props.

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
Yes, but I’d prefer if it was just other types of dolls.

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
I’ve been to a couple! I visited Japan in 2009 & was able to go to the main Volks store/showroom in Kyoto, which was gorgeous. I also went to a tiny Soom store in Tokyo that might not exist anymore (I’m like 80% sure that was the company, but it was a very long time ago), which was very cute but cramped. There’s also a doll store in my state that’s a dealer of BJDs (they stock other things as well), but that was kind of a weird experience, so I never went back. I do sometimes buy from their online store, but even thats always odd (the owner is always very brusque even though I’m very polite. Pretty sure it’s just her personality & it’s nothing personal, but it’s still jarring haha).

 

Would you go to it?
Of course!!!

What would you expect to find there?
Clothes , wigs , shoes , eyes and dolls

What would you want it to have?
Clothes , wigs , shoes , eyes and dolls

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
Of course!!!

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
No we don't have any in Greece

 

Would you go to it?

Heck yeah!! It's always been a dream to go to a bjd store and be able to see and choose what you're getting. I believe it would eliminate a lot of disappointments.

What would you expect to find there?

Everything we see on the web store and it would be cool to see them all done so you just choose what to buy

What would you want it to have?

Dolls, clothes, accessories, everything we need to create our dream dolls

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?

Of course!! no harm done with showing stuff from other hobbies


If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??

Sadly no, I have never been to one and I only know Japan has a volks store. There used to be one in USA but they removed it

 

Would you go to it? ------- ^,^ ------ I would LOVE TO!!

What would you expect to find there?
Dolls and anything related to dolls. Guest spots for doll artists to book in and be there on a regular basis to meet and greet with their fans. What I would love to find would also be spaces to photograph dolls with sets to use and professional lighting, but that is REALLY dreaming. It would also be in my dreams that there would be friendly staff who would hold sessions for teaching skills related to faceups and other doll collecting skills. Even a sewing wing! This place would be big. *__* // And have a shipping corner to box and send things home in case you don't have room in your car, or you flew in for this destination vacation shopping in this place.

What would you want it to have?
dolls, clothes, shoes, wigs, accessories, props, furniture, backdrops, supplies for customizing, books about dolls and supplies for making things for them and personalizing them, good ventilator masks and any other items that can protect customizers. REPLACEMENT parts would be a dream. So, if you broke a finger for example, you could buy the extra parts needing to be replaced. And along those lines, doll masks both blank and painted, and unique doll attachment items from wings to horns and hooves.
I think this ginormous store needs a doll themed hotel next door.

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
Things related to dolls would make sense. Felted creations and handmade stuffies for doll accessories. Even vintage items along those lines. I would love sewing items too, and maybe even lessons for different level of skills. Sewing section to offer wonderful fabrics with doll size print fabrics and vintage and cool "findings" of appropriate size for dolls. And patterns for all sizes and shapes of dolls in all kinds of clothing styles.

But otherwise, I would want all the space to be devoted to dolls and their worlds. What I've described would probably need to be already at least the size of a football field. AND, since it is so big, let's add a coffee shop with great drinks and food. But no food in the fabric areas. -- While I'm out here in dreamland, an area for serving adult beverages too. LOL ~ This dreamworld would be a place I could break my rule. I should say I could not resist breaking my rule to never go in debt over dolls. Maybe they could have a consignment section too so we could trade around and keep money circling the hobby of related treasures. Of course, the shop owners would make commission money on items they sell for others.

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
Never been, but I am becoming one! Maybe next year I will be organized enough to start sharing/selling from my massive collection. I think this happened because I once owned a large antique store [2800sq.ft] so I have the shop mentality. But I would never want to keep up the overhead involved in a physical shop open to the public.

I am going to have to do my selling on-line store style.

 

Would you go to it?
Yes! I like physical doll stores a lot!

What would you expect to find there?
Dolls and their accessories.

What would you want it to have?
I want photo spaces that we can borrow. My house is small and I don't have any doll-sized furniture to be used for photo sessions. A place to sit down and relax, like a cafe will be awesome too. We know hauling few Kgs of resin is a full body workout , will be nice to sit and take a rest surrounded by dolls.

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
I personally think a doll-focused store will be better, but I don't mind having other hobbies mixed-in.

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
It was great! I have been to several doll stores in Tokyo. I hope one day I can visit Tenshi no Sato in Kyoto and other doll stores in Korea.

 

Would you go to it?
I'd love to!

What would you expect to find there?
Dolls, clothes, wigs, eyes... Everything!

What would you want it to have?
Furniture and props! And some photo spaces with cute scenarios would be lovely.

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
Yeah, more hobbies to discover!

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
I only have been in a small dollcon, but I'm some visits to volks in Japan!

 

Would you go to it?
100%! I don't live by any, but if I were traveling, I would add it to the itinerary!

What would you expect to find there?
Dolls, doll parts depending on if they are a brand like volks with their own dolls or an authorized reseller? But mostly clothing, accessories, wigs, and eyes?

What would you want it to have?
The above and maybe a cute space for photo taking? Maybe a doll repair service center or a space for doll meetups, similar to how the game stores in my area have areas for card games and meetups!

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
YES, give me other dolls, blind box figures, and gundams!

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??

Not yet unfortunately!!

 

Would you go to it?
I would love to go to a physical BJD store. I do think it's a shame that specialized stores like that have been dying out over the years - at least in the area I live.

What would you expect to find there?
Apart from BJDs themselves? I would expect a lot of accessories for the dolls, maybe some clothing. Maybe even stuff like pattern books, and photo backdrops. I suspect that for a store to thrive, they might have to open up to other types of dolls, which could be very cool too if they got like exclusive collector types. Oh, also materials for actually working on your dolls. So paints, and watercolours, and pastels, and sealants... Wig making materials. That type of thing.

What would you want it to have?
Well, apart from the above... Maybe a space for meet-ups? Like a small café type area? They don't actually need to serve anything, just having the space would be great. Also, an area for repairs or working on your dolls could be cool. Part of me thinks it might also be cool to have a 3-d printing space, but maybe that's asking too much. I'll stick with a café type area.

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
Oh, yeah, totally. There's a lot of overlap in a lot of the hobbies. Put dolls, bears, figures all in together. Even trains. A lot of the customizing for these hobbies can be done using similar materials, so that would be fun to be able to share tips and tricks. Plus, there's something cool about the image of an ultra realistic Hot Toys figure being sold in the same place as a stylized BJD.

 

YES! I love hobby stores of any kind so I'd love a BJD store too! I'd imagine selling dolls could be hard since there are so many and due to pricing, it'd be smart to sell ones that are beginner friendly, affordable, and customizable. I think it'd be great if a store sold general items that can work on any doll like wigs, clothes, shoes, eyes, faceup materials, furniture, etc. I'd like this because I'd be able to get an idea of what works and what doesn't on my doll before making a purchase.

As for the store selling other hobbies, I wouldn't mind that. Some interests in hobbies overlap. I've seen doll collectors who are also drag queens, fashion designers, and makeup artists.

 

Would you go to it?
YES - I'd love to be able to visit one

What would you expect to find there?
Clothes, shoes, props, dolls...

What would you want it to have?
It would be amazing if there was a little coffee bar and place to sit for local meets, and maybe a little area for visitors to take pics...like a doll sized "selfie spot"

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
Sure! It would make sense if they were doll-adjacent like miniatures and craft supplies that can be used in the doll hobby

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
nope - it's a bucket list item though!

 

There are some random ones around Japan located in really out of the way places.

What's hilarious is that some have hobbit size doors that I have to duck under to get in, and I'm not that tall.

 

Would you go to it?
Yes, absolutely!

What would you expect to find there?
BJDs, clothes, shoes, and maybe accessories. It would also be cool if there were tools and materials for customizing or making BJDs, like stringing them, making eyes, ect.

What would you want it to have?
I would like to see anthropomorphic animal BJDs since I love animals and recently became a sucker for those kinds of BJDs.

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
I would be fine with other hobbies in the store as well.

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
I have not been to one, but I wish I could.