You get $1million to invest in any company - which one and why?

Dearmine. Because they run a cat rescue out of their studio, and their owner wants to open a pet shelter someday.
A+ worthy cause!

 

I don't have any particular compulsion to donate a ton of money to any doll company, because there are causes so much worthier...but I second @RinSetsua's idea, for just that reason. Saving lives is worth the cash.

PS: I think if you donated that much money to small, independent artists, many would say, "Thanks!" and promptly retire.

 

Charity Navigator. It's a site that has a database of various charities around the world (both big named ones and lesser known ones), ranks them on different measures, and is unbiased. You can donate directly to the charity or charities that you want and it doesn't take any cut as it's absolutely free. When the pandemic started and I couldn't really volunteer due to health reasons, I found it and I was surprised which of the charities I knew of were legitimately good, which ones were horrible (like, violating human rights horrible or not even giving to their causes horrible), and others I've never heard of but realized I would love to donate to. It also gives helpful tips on how to be more effective in giving back and how to not be fooled by charities that sound vaguely like reputable ones or ones that are well known but again are evil (like, actually paying for violence to further their causes kind of evil and not just taking money from you kind of evil). If there are too many good options, it'll have some quick tabs to pick from such as "Charities with Perfect Scores" that is further subdivided into different sectors that make it easier to pick from or "Hot Topic" charities that lists charities that are working on current event issues right now (like Covid-19 or Hurricane Eta). I have spent days on here learning about different charities and editing my list of which ones I have already donated to and which ones I want to donate to in the future. No matter what you pick, you feel good about it.

 

Little Rebel Doll. I want Carmen to be happy and able to create all the art she wishes to share without worrying about anything else, no conditions. Independent artists deserve the world for opening theirs with us.

The way she thought she'd have her ultimately final doll sale in 2016 because of costs broke my heart. I remember being so glad I took home an Aleksander head so it got some money back for her, but since then I've not needed more dolls and consequently had no more opportunities to show my support. I ponder frequently about how to do better among the independent artists.

 

If I were going to donate to something BJD related, it would be to an organization devoted to combating recasts.

 

@saraquill has the best practical idea imo, if the intent is to aid specifically your favorite companies. International legal fees are a nightmare and some artists really can't afford that.So it'd be combating the false copyrighting by recasters.

But if it had to be specifically to a company and it wasn't the above issue, I'd have to go with Dearmine like @RinSetsua. I may have learned about it five seconds ago but I will drop a lot of things to aid cat-based rescue and charity work.

 

Okay, so, ignoring the existence of charities, and thinking solely of doll companies (maybe "if you could pick a company to invest in" instead of "donate money to" would be better phrasing? Idk, I just feel like people are already trying to get off topic. Like, obviously there are a million charities and causes that need money - we're not talking about that. We're talking about BJD companies and which ones we would like to see get a sudden influx of cash) it's still so hard to choose! One thing that I really love about this hobby is that even the "big" companies are actually quite small, and we can get a good feel for the personalities of the individual artists, etc.

I didn't know that Dearmine is rescuing cats, but it certainly makes me want to support them! They've always had such cute sculpts, too! (Ahhhh...Now I'm down the rabbit hole of making Christmas List plans...)

If not Dearmine, I think I would give the money to Rosen Lied. They're my favorite company, and I would really like to see them expand their Thursday's Child line. (Also, I just want to make sure they never go out of business because I love ALL of their sculpts and the vast majority of their clothing) They're also very nice people with excellent customer service.

 

I think I’d give it to ResinSoul. They’re such a good company who go out of their way for customers—making any color resin imaginable, modifying sculpts by request, allowing us to mix and match any parts and any color—all while charging some of the lowest prices in the hobby and keeping reasonable wait times. These low prices have helped many people on tight budgets join the hobby. Sun is always very sweet and helpful through email, and it’s obvious that everyone in the company works very hard.

My only stipulations would be that everyone who works for them get an equal share of the money, and that they keep prices affordable so everyone can have a chance to enjoy their dolls.

 

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Darn, I kind of want to split it between multiple Insta artists. But if I had to choose, boypink, so they can quit their job and focus on making more unique sculpts! MDR and Rugged Realism are close runner-ups.

 

From an ethics standpoint, some kind of charity supporting independent bjd artists so they can focus on making more unique dolls for everyone.

From a personal/selfish standpoint...*pushes towards Volks for expansion of Disney license and maybe also a clothesline* *and also standard male Dollfie Dreams that would be nice too thx*.

 

I would say Iplehouse because they're my first company, but I never really liked their new designs enough to buy them. I'd probably give it to Volks so they'd expand their global business so that everyone outside of Japan can have more opportunities to join their events and obtain exclusive dolls. It would an global exclusive fund.

 

If I were to drop that sort of money on one studio, I think it would be either LLT or Nabarro.

Have a slight temptation to be like "Dollshe can you please have a sensible schedule for a million dollars?!" but I am am more of a "throw money at people who are doing a good job" type

 

Same! But then they would have to offer more basic colors than normal skin. At least have white skin, normal skin and tanned as an option. Then they could have other colors for their limited sculpts.

My biggest disappointment in this hobby where when they just vanished. My very first doll I got from them, a DOI Luke. Still to this day I have not been able to get over what happened to them

 

Ahhh! So many amazing artists! How to choose?

Buuuuut, the one that leapt into my mind was Pathos Tale because they had to stop making sculpts.
It would be amazing to see them come back and share more of their unique visions.

If not Pathos Tale, then my second choice would be DLace because their sculpts are so amazing and innovative!!! I am always blown away by their dolls. I am a huge fan!

 

If I was to "donate," I think Dearmine or a legal defense fund for bjd artists against counterfeiting would be best.

However, if I could invest... or something to that degree, I'd love to bring back defunct studio's like Creature Doll. He had some of the nicest fashion BJDs on the market, but I think Creature Doll had a hard time getting out there. Raccoondoll seems to be doing well though, so I think there was the potential, but alas.

Otherwise I wouldn't mind investing into Withdoll, Souldoll or Fairyland because I love them, ahaha, or Resinsoul. Resinsoul does such great work and I am excited to see what they do next.

 

I think any company that gets a million dollars is likely going to say "We're set for life, thanks!" and retire.