Dollieh Sanctuary

This week's Dollieh Question from our list. (viewtopic.php?f=41&t=6677)

4. How do you start? How long have you been in the hobby?

I've always liked dolls but I started in to BJD when they began showing up in the anime community. I keep seeing pictures of some of my friends BJDs and just had to have one myself. I also like fashion dolls too. I've been in the hobby since 2009 which is also the same year I got Joe.

I've been collecting dolls in general most of my life - American Girls, Barbies, Madame Alexander, etc.

As for BJDs hm...I got my first obitsu two years ago January I think!

Barbie I've loved forever, had a couple of heads still from childhood, but only seriously started collecting in the late 90's. Princes of Ireland Barbie, she was a total catalyst. I have 3 of her now and probably 300 other Barbies at least. Tonner, Gene, Alex, Eve, Brenda and similar since about 2002? Liv, MT's Bratz, MH, et all for about 2 years I guess? BJD, Deliah is my first. I'm really hoping she won't be a gateway drug to more expensive BJD's but I'm looking to acquire a 3rd of her even as I type so already she's a "major thing" laugh.

I was looking around for a doll, larger than a Barbie, for which to sew clothes. I considered Obitsu but they were generally too anime-ish for me.
Then I stumbled on some images of ABJD and was instantly interested.
So I got a doll or four.
I've been in for just a couple of months.

I have loved dolls for as long as I can remember. My first fashion doll was a Color Magic Barbie I got for Christmas. I ended up getting most of the Twist-n-Turn dolls, but it was when I was given a Living Barbie that I fell in love with expanded articulation. After that plain old bendable legs just wouldn't do it for me. I had a couple of Uneeda Dollikins, and then I have up dolls because I was "too old" and gave them all away. For the next ten years I was miserable until I got with my partner and she convinced me that I was old enough to play with dolls if I wanted to. Of course, by then articulated dolls were hard to find (this was the late 1980s) but I never gave up my search. Then, at the dawn of the 21st century, I found Japanese articulated dolls, purchased Megumi, and the rest is history. Of course, now articulated dolls are a lot easier to find here in the States, but I have always been a bit disappointed in the lack of skin-tone variety available with most Asian dolls. (I still curse that I never got a marrone Obitsu when I had the chance. Argh.)

In a way, I'm only just starting. Some two years ago I saw a picture of an Obitsu over on deviantArt, and I started researching ... half a year later, my two 1/6 girls came home, but as much as I loved customizing them, they were a pain to sew for. (Funnily enough, that never bothered me as a kid when we were sewing for ur Barbies ... but it does now.) So I decided to "go big", but didn't know which sculpt to go for ... then I saw some gorgeous Iple pics and had almost decided on Eva when they came up with Stella, who is the resin image of an OC of mine, so it just had to be her. (Eva will probably join her at some point, though, and so will Bianca and Bibiane and who knows who else ... ^^°)

Long after I gave up my Barbies for action figures, I detected a hint of interest in attempting to sew when I bought my first pair of not so articulated 1/6 Street Fighter dolls. Nothing much happend until I gotten an articulated Ryu and wanted a Mamachapp Chun Li very much.

But since I can't get her I thought of customing one either out of a Barbie or this new fangled Volks dollfie that was at one of te bjd shops. But bjd shop moved to Hong Kong before I could go back again (shakes fist at Domuya). And then I saw this Obitsu at one of the action figure shop and a pre painted W01 head charmed me.

Some research at the Junkyspot forum and the old Dreamland forum later I gone down the path of which led to a 50cm Obitsu and heading down the fork of resin bjd

So techically I've being in this hobby since May 2006 if we go by when the 2nd Ryu arrived (Obi-Chun came 2 months later)

Never had a doll in my life.
I found a person on flickr and loved her photos of them years ago but could never afford them.
Bought my Delilah Noir this year joined this forum.
Now the sickness has taken hold

I did not really like dolls as a child, I would do horrible things to my barbies, like rip off their legs, arms, and heads. I had seen some BJDs when I got to college because my downstairs neighbor was Kiki-chan78, so I was subjected to Omi a lot. Eventually I got a BJD myself, and she arrived on May 3rd, 2011. Kiki and Zirconmermaid taught me a tremendous amount about BJDs and how to care for them whether they're vinyl or resin. I've joined DoA last year and I use it as a resource, but this forum is much smaller and less cliquey. I like it here even if I don't post much.

Since then my group has grown to 9 full dolls and 3 floating heads that need bodies. I went overboard and I know that. At least I'm slowing waaaay down now.

I saw some pictures on the internet, but it wasn't until over a year later that I started researching. It's really weird; it was really sudden and came out of the clear blue. One day I just thought, "That was cool I should look into that." I couldn't get enough and I didn't stop being interested after a few months, so I got myself some practice barbies from the thrift store. I still don't have a really nice doll like a bjd or an obitsu but I'm really enjoying the hobby and will probably get myself a bjd sometime soon.