Positiver and Positiver

Now I've got the big groan out of the way, I can talk about more fun/interesting things!


This month I'm going to LONDON :D B and I are going to stay with L&C and try and meet up with as many folks as possible, whilst also attempting to see the sights. B wants to see Freedom Press and the Houses of Parliament, I'm bringing a BJD for fun travel dolly photos - I want one of Melangell sat in an iconic red phonebox.


I've started to be more of a physically organised person - mentally I can be organised and I write lots of lists, but I seem to leave disorder wherever I go. My room is a shit-tip, quite frankly. I have so many things going on with my wardrobe that it's unreal. Anyway. I threw out lots of rubbish at the weekend, and today I'm sorting through my wardrobe; things to throw, things to keep, things to donate and things for Ro.


 Later on I'm meeting up with my friend, Ro, and her baby (my godson!) for tea, cake and a chat! We're trying to meet up at least every fortnight so that he starts remembering who I am (he'll be 9 months old this month) and also so she gets some grown-up chat and to see a face other than her fiance's! I'll be bringing a bag of clothes for her - things that don't suit me but I bought anyway...that kind of thing ;) I keep my clothes in very good condition and she threw away a lot of her pre-pregnancy clothes thinking they wouldn't fit her afterwards (oops!)


Another postive thing is mexican fajita Pringles. They taste amazing. B and I had some yesterday and they were fantastic.


So, not everything is grumbles! There's a lot of positive stuff too!

Kennels of Irritation

It seems a bit bad to be opening a new post with annoyances, but these have been building up a while and I want to get rid of them. So here goes; 

Recasting - I really don't care what your justification is for buying that bootleg, so don't even try. I've heard things like 'Oh, but I *really* love the dolls and can't afford originals' or 'I'd never buy a recast of a doll from single artist studio, but Volks/Soom/Iplehouse are really big companies - it's like sticking it to Walmart/Tesco.'

I'm not an elitist who says 'GTFO of my hobby if you can't afford it, peasant', I don't think like that. At all. But the hobby is expensive and anyone getting into it should be aware of that. You're not 'doing everyone a favour' by driving prices down by buying recasts - you're sowing distrust throughout the community. Second-hand dolls pass through the community a lot and many people are happy to finally track down the doll they've admired for years, but this is all going to stop if we can't trust that the second-hand dolls we buy are genuine. There are already a few countries on my personal blacklist for being too prevalent in dealing in bootleg BJDs. I just can't take that risk with my own collection.

All the people I know in this hobby are not made of money. We love the dolls and scrape and save to be able to afford them. There is no big horde of rich collectors sneering at you because you can't afford a doll. That is your insecurity. We want to cheer you on and encourage you as you save, the way we are encouraging each other, we don't want or like to pat you on the back for getting a 'bargain', when it means you've basically rubbed an artist's face in muck and trod on their back to get their hard work and innovation for cheap. Nice, huh?

There is a common misconception that Volks is a huge company. It isn't. It's a successful hobby company, but not huge. Super Dollfie is the smallest wing of the company, it only looks huge in the hobby because we only see the BJD side, not the garage-kit and figure-kit side. They are hit by the recession as well, closing down Sumikas and moving to areas with lower rents. Volks isn't in trouble, but they are feeling the pinch. If you keep buying recast Volks dolls rather than genuine Volks dolls, the people who create the dolls you admire will be out of work because they won't be paid if they can't sell their product.

Everyone loves a bargain, but a direct copy harms business. There are enough smaller studios copying trends from bigger companies - there's a doll for every budget, honestly. There is no need to buy a recast doll.

Having a whine about DoA - I love being a moderator on DoA. I love helping people out and giving something back to the community, I really like DoA as a fun space to be. Nothing pops my bubble faster than seeing other people slag off the forum and the mods.

It's not difficult to follow the rules, they're there, black and white, anyone can find them and read them. The same as forum announcements - we write them and post them to keep members informed about upcoming changes or updates. I find it so disheartening to receive angry PMs from members who have broken a rule that was announced over two years ago. If we bother to write these announcements, the least you could do is take a couple of minutes to read them, or if you're new, try reading the rules first before jumping in head-first and getting unstuck for spamming.

I have a thick skin, thicker than some of the other mods, but some of the things that have been said about me personally really make me gasp. I'm a mod for an online doll community and you don't even know me personally. I had no idea that being a mod would make me 'high profile' enough to be bitched about. I don't know whether to roll my eyes or be proud I've 'made it'.

People gushing about new dolls and then turning around and selling them a week later - this isn't really a huge annoyance, just something that gives me a wry smile. It really is entirely up to you what you do with your dolls and if you really don't want to keep a doll longer than a week, you shouldn't have to just because you worry about what other people will think. I just find it amusing to watch people so in love with their new dolls quickly put them up for sale. People have unique circumstances, I know this, there may be a pressing reason why you need to sell the doll and get the money together quickly, but when it happens three or four times in a row with new dolls, I do wonder a little whether the person might be better off hanging on to their money and enjoying the dolls they already have for a little while before buying the next doll? So much money must be lost with Paypal fees and conversion from JPY/USD/HKD/SGD/GBP/EUR... over continuous sales. I don't know. If this is you, more power to you, I just don't think I could do it myself!

Busy Month!

January is almost over now! I can't believe how fast 2012 is going already.

This has been quite a busy month. I've been busy with work as well as resurrecting my Poupée Girl account. That's my profile in the link. It's a sort of Japanese fashion/social network where you upload pictures of your clothes for others to admire and you earn ribbons and jewels to spend on clothes for your 'Poupée'. It's much better that I spend fictional ribbons and jewels on stuff than actual money! I need to be sensible and save up!


My new favourite company is Crobidoll. I haven't bought a new doll from them, I bought a wig for Melangell. Well, I originally ordered two but when one was sold out, I got a quick email from Crobi explaining that I could either have a refund to my Paypal or they'd give me store credit so I could buy another wig from them another time. I asked for a refund because I wasn't sure when I'd next be buying a wig and that was super fast too - this was barely 48 hours ago...and today I had a package from Crobi with the wig I ordered (gorgeous, soft and glossy!) as well as a freebie furwig and some stickers saying 'A Present for You'. How lovely :) The customer services person who emailed me was extremely nice and wished me a happy new year - I thought that because of the Lunar New Year and most Korean companies being on holiday that my order wouldn't come until next week or even later if they had to sort through the post. I am beyond impressed with them and I definitely recommend them.

Sales Stuff!

Last night I stayed over at B's and because the weather was awful, we made a cheerful, bright-coloured Moroccan chicken dish. Sadly we didn't have the tagine to serve it in, but it was yummy anyway. We used chicken thighs, chopped apricots, chickpeas, paprika, turmeric, tomato puree, coriander, parsley and butter and it was really tasty - the only thing I would change for next time is use chicken breasts or cut the meat off the bone because the meat was very tender after being cooked and it fell off the bones leaving gristly bits lurking in the food :s That bit wasn't recommended!

We had some glasses of a cab sauv and watched two Australian films; The Castle and The Dish, while the rain and wind lashed outside.

Today, B had to go to the library and hand in an essay, so I decided to go and spend some of my Christmas money!

I bought;

Accessorize - a wishbone bracelet (perfect scale for a long pendant for a doll!), a wishbone necklace (for me :p), a cameo pendant, a long fringed necklace for mum, nail varnish in Apricot Crush and a ballerina slippers charm for my charm bracelet from Y.

Topshop - a Bajoran-style earring (a hook for a pierced ear and an earcuff joined by a chain - this one has a genuine chunk of turquoise and some feathers) and some white rose hairclips
WHSmith - hole reinforcers, some pens and an address book for work
Chelsea Doll - a black handbag like a Mulberry Alexa and some Barry M mock croc crackle paint


Why hole reinforcers, you ask? Well I saw this manicure tutorial by Wayward Daughter and I've always wanted to try it myself. So far it's worked well!

I've been playing with my nails quite a bit since Christmas, trying different things. I had black lace nail transfers over a nude base and they looked quite classy for New Year. Today I'm wearing my new Claire's grey nail varnish with unpainted lunulas :) Tomorrow it'll probably be my new apricot nail varnish from Accessorize!

BJD Addicts Written Prompts: #2, #6, #13

Today I'm answering BJD Addicts Written Prompts #2, #6, #13

BJD Addicts Written Prompt #2 - Dream Dolls

I've been lucky in that I've owned three of my dream dolls (two are still with me, one has since moved on); My Volks Megu, Volks Kurt and Souldoll Hye were fabulous dream dolls once upon a time and it was hugely exciting to bring them home. I only let my Hye go because she was sadly associated with some unhappy memories. Currently I have a couple more dream dolls, but I'd need to win the EuroMillions before I thought about buying them. I like Volks SD13 Irvin and Little Monica Reynell.


BJD Addicts Written Prompt #6 - Handmade vs. Buying

I have tried to make my own things for my dolls a few times, but I find sewing such small things to be really frustrating. I was very proud of a 7-8'' headsize bonnet and cape I made for one of my first dolls, I picked the material, ribbon and lining and although it wasn't particularly symmetrical, it still looked nice and I was happy for my dolls to be seen in it!

I do tend to buy more for my dolls than make for them; I have a particular weakness for shoes. I adore human-sized shoes, so buying miniature shoes for my dolls is almost irresistable! I have tried making shoes for a doll before but the little cloth shoes I was able to make aren't a patch on the faux-leather and canvas shoes I can buy from professionals. Some of my favourite shoes are made by Dollheart and I'd never be able to match their quality - the shoes look like human shoes perfectly scaled down, rather than what you usually find with doll shoes, clumsy, unrealistic looking shoes with no soles.


BJD Addicts Written Prompt #13 - Spending Limits

This probably sounds terrible/irresponsible/both...but I don't give myself a specific dolly budget for things. If I'm looking to buy a doll, for example, and the doll is very expensive to buy outright, many companies offer a layaway service where the company accepts your order and you provide them with a payment plan. Dividing the cost into three monthly payments makes it a lot less expensive and although it takes longer to get your doll, you can pay it off manageably.

The hobby is expensive in general, and can seem incredibly overpriced to people outside of the hobby. I can see that and I'm not really defending the prices, except that I believe that if you want a quality item, you get what you pay for. I have had low-priced bargains with amazing quality, but these things are quite rare. If I see an amazing pair of BJD boots, I will check around for the average price of boots in this size-range and see if the asking price is fair or inflated. I have actually paid the same price for BJD shoes as human shoes...but putting the BJD shoes beside my size 5s...there's been more detail and care gone into making the boots!

I suppose I do have some limits - It's unlikely I'd ever spend $1000 on a doll or a doll item, but I have spent $600 on one doll before!

BJD Addicts Written Prompts: #1, #5, #15

The BJD Addicts group on DeviantART and YouTube put together a series of prompts for BJD owners to make videos and write posts describing how they find the hobby. It's a great way to build community and help people get to know each other.

I'm a little camera-shy, so I don't expect to be doing video prompts any time soon, but I'll do the written prompts. They can be done in any particular order, so I'm going to do #1, #5 and #15.

BJD Addicts Written Prompt #1 - The Wait

While I wait for a new doll to arrive, I tend to spend a lot of time imagining what they're really going to look like when I see them properly – because unless you've been to a meet-up to see a particular BJD in person, you really only have sales pictures to go from and they can be deceptive some times. Mostly, I try to forget that I've ordered a doll because I know that the wait will be a while and I don't want to be driving myself insane checking the order page constantly, waiting to see when it updates :p I am even worse once I've got the shipping confirmation because I'll be refreshing the tracking as often as I can to see how close my doll is!

I like my dolls to have an outfit of their very own waiting for them when they arrive (this includes shoes), so I'll turn to the usual suspects when I'm looking for BJD clothes; some independent tailors I love to buy from are theHappiestPrincess, Sugardollshop and icantdance, but I also shop from companies like Volks, Dollheart and Dollmore.

I have quite a collection of wigs and eyes now, so usually there'll be something here already for an incoming doll to wear, but for my most recent girl, Deryn, I did buy two pairs of eyes and a few wigs. This was partly because I only had one pair of 18mm eyes, and Mafonwen's very attached to her eyes, but mostly because I wanted Deryn to look very different from the other girls I have here. I do the clothes/wig/eye shopping quite early on in the wait so I can be sure that they'll be here before my doll arrives. I like to dress them in their things first and feel a bit pampered, before they have to start sharing with everyone else!

I've ordered BJDs direct from Volks, Fairyland, Camellia Dynasty and Soom. The fastest arrival was Arthur, my Camellia Dynasty Wong cat, who took 19 days to arrive! It's more usual to expect a BJD between 35-45 days after placing an order. Some companies take longer, some take less time. My Soom order took months because I ordered a Limited Edition Monthly Doll, a Soom Glot, and at that time there were huge backlogs with the company trying to produce and ship Monthly Dolls that had been ordered way before Glot had ever been released. I had a very long time to wait for her, but that made it easier in a way, because that way I could forget about ordering her and the wait wasn't as unbearable as some shorter waits!

BJD Addicts Written Prompt #5 - Dolls in Public

I do feel a bit strange about taking my dolls out in public. I don't know any BJD collectors in my area – the closest person I know lives in Ireland and the others live in London – so I'll always be on my own taking my dolls out with me and I don't know how I would handle the attention. I like to blend into the background and carrying a 60cm doll doesn't really help you do that. I do feel a lot more confident when I'm with other people with their BJDs.

Part of why I would feel strange is that people can be really rude, even when they don't know you. I'm not normally worried about what people think of me, but I do get quite upset when people are rude to my face, or stare. I'm sure that some people could see me photographing dolls and come over with polite questions and be quite interested in the hobby, but I'm not sure whether I'd like that any better. I'm a little shy and get nervous around people I don't know.

BJD Addicts Written Prompt #15 - How Many do You Own?

1 boy, 5 girls and 2 floating heads. By February 2012, this should be 1 boy, 6 girls and 1 floating head, because I'll be ordering Deryn's body in January and Ariadoll don't have much of a waiting period because they keep dolls in stock rather than make to order.

Playing with Dolls

Yesterday, the amazing wigs I ordered months ago from Leekeworld arrived! They were a bit of a naughty buy, but they were definitely worth it when I opened the parcel and put them on Deryn!

Here she is wearing LR-035_E in Real Carrot. This was actually my gamble wig. Her main wig was going to be LR-020_E (a straight wig in the same style as Mafonwen and Momoko's default wigs) in Real Carrot, but I actually like this one on her a lot. This is after a re-style though. The wig arrived in very tight ringlets and didn't look very nice, I wanted the smooth waves from the picture on the website, so I...brushed it.

That wasn't a very good idea. The whole wig was a frizzball and it was far too long for her as well. Deryn looked like she was sitting in an orange cloud. This morning I washed and re-set the wig and I trimmed it to the same length as the LR-020_E wig, so now it sits to her elbows and is the perfect length!

I'm also beginning a career in BJD lingerie. I can never find nice, inexpensive underwear for my dolls, so I've decided to try making some myself. I'm not sure how well this is going to go, but I'm going to try!

For my birthday and Christmas I got some beautiful MSD-sized corsets from Adventure Girl and Carawj, so I've been playing with those as well! They fit Melangell perfectly! The above picture isn't perfect, but I was running out of natural light and started playing with flash/shadow! I will get better shots of her soon!