Doll plans for 2024

1st January 2024

Over on Instagram there have been a lot of stories and story templates floating around about doll goals for 2023 and plans for 2024. They're super fun, but there's not a lot of room to write down the details. So: here are my thoughts about 2024.

New dolls over 2023 and 2024

I bought a slightly embarrassing number of dolls in 2023. 2022 was the year I re-joined the hobby after about 12-14 years away, and over 2023 I mostly bought whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted (finances permitting, of course).

However, my purchases definitely outpaced my ambition for actually working on or playing with my dolls. I've been trying to do my own faceups and make my own outfits, but because I work and have a young child, it's been hard to find much time for that kind of creativity. It turns out that window shopping (and actual shopping) is easier than working on a tricky sewing project...

Also, I moved my hobby area part-way through 2023, and haven't finished setting up the new space. I don't yet have a place to display all my dolls, which means it's easy to forget about them slightly (and then get distracted by a potential new purchase). In 2024 I want to buy a new Billy bookcase from Ikea, plus some new stands, so that I can see all the dolls at once and get inspired/reminded to create for them.

In general, I don't want to buy many new dolls in 2024. Given the number of ongoing doll projects, I can't really take on anything else without feeling stressed about it. There are two exceptions:

• I will likely enter the lottery to get a chance to buy SD13 Elizabeth. She's really lovely and I think the chance of winning is very slim, but I'll try anyway.
• At some point (not necessarily in 2024, but let's see what the end of the year brings) I'd like to get a F-101 in tan via the Full Choice System. Every time I see this head I love it, and there were some gorgeous tan one-offs (1, 2, 3) that captured my heart.

I'm not going to outright say no to new dolls, but I want to think about my collection as a whole and be strict with my purchases.

Buuuut, for the record, some dolls I've been thinking about but probably won't get:

• SD16 four sisters
• SD Le Petit Frere
• SDM Hina
• Kurumi/Miruku on a DearSD body (I'd love one, but it would be very expensive/difficult to get)

Bigger projects

Currently I have the following big doll projects that I would like to make progress on:

• Look into de-yellowing my oldskin beauty white old F-28 SD13 boy Sadame. I need to do more cleaning of the head and body, then I'll try some light sanding, and lastly I may see if I can use PanPastels on the head to make it a bit less yellow. After all that, he needs a new faceup (and wig, and clothes).
• Decide what to do with my pureskin fair F-16 SDGr boy. I thought about having him be a replacement for Sadame, but that depends on how well Sadame's restoration goes. I'm also not averse to having twins, because I love this head. Again, new faceup/wig/clothes needed.
• Faceups for all my YoSDs. I gave 2 of them faceups in 2023 already, but I think I can do better.
• Clothes and wig for Altaira, my gorgeous Bardo Research Anitya.
• Redo the faceup on Lizbet, my SD Liz. I love her one-off faceup so I'll need to work up some courage for this one.

Photography

I have a very old Canon EOS 350D/Digital Rebel XT (made in 2005). In February 2023 I bought a nice new lens, a Canon EF 35mm f/2, which I'm delighted with. I intended to buy a new camera body, but decided to hold off until I could see how much I used the older camera.

The old camera is perfectly good and takes nice photos, but I'm excited about a few features that a newer camera would give me:

• A larger back screen
• Transferring photos over Bluetooth/wi-fi
• Less noise in low-light conditions
• More focal points

After some research I think a used Canon EOS 90D or 800D body would be a really nice upgrade without being too expensive (given how much I'm likely to use the camera), and I'll probably buy one later this year.

In 2024 I generally want to take more photos, especially for holidays or with themes. I felt like I really missed out on autumn and Christmas photos this year.

Sewing and knitting

There are so many outfits I've been thinking about making, pretty much for every doll I own! I've been avoiding I'm very pleased that in December 2023, I finally organised my fabric stash:

I need to do some more organising of my sewing supplies, because a big barrier to sewing is that since I have limited time, not having everything to hand means that I waste that time trying to find things instead of actually sewing.

I also want to finish and document a couple of historical sewing projects that I've started:

• 1895 cycling outfit for Oscar
• 1840s day dress for Lizbet

Knitting went much better in 2023 and I finished quite a few projects, but I would like to use up my yarn stash as much as possible. Once upon a time I even sold some doll knits, and I would be open to doing that again, but it's not a serious goal for 2024.

Conclusion

• Fewer new dolls (but not none, probably)
• More time having fun with my existing dolls
• Make my dolls visible
• Improve photography and sewing skills
• Organise all my supplies

Thank you for reading, and I wish everyone a healthy and happy 2024!

BJD 15 Questions

19th October 2023

Let's kick off the blog! A general overview of my doll hobby preferences seems like a nice way to start.

Thanks to montydollcrew (see their original post) for making these questions.

1. When did you get into the hobby? Do you remember the reason?

It was probably 2003, because I ordered my first doll right at the end of that year, but it might even have been late 2002. I don't remember the exact moment, but it was almost certainly on a website or maybe in one of the Gothic & Lolita Bibles.

2. Related, what was one of the first dolls you remember seeing? (A photo or in person)

It was a long time ago, but I remember loving a Volks F-08 girl (old version) on a website owned by an artist called Jujube, and the Volks Four Sisters girls. Almost the only doll company around at the time was Volks, and there were no in-person meets in the UK at the time.

3. Do you have a ‘type’ of doll you gravitate towards or do you like a bit of everything? (i.e. general look, size, ambience)

⅓ scale with a stylised (as opposed to realistic) appearance, preferably with something a little bit old-fashioned about their sculpt, and a slightly sweet/sad/grumpy expression.

4. Do you like bigger or smaller dolls? How big/small is your limit?

I like the presence of ⅓ scale dolls, but I have two ¼ dolls and a few ⅙ dolls – I love how tiny they are.

I wouldn't go bigger than Volks Super Dollfie 17 size (i.e. on the larger end of ⅓ scale) purely because of space considerations, and I'd probably not go smaller than ⅙ because then sewing for them becomes a real challenge.

5. Do you have a favourite company? What do you like about them?

Volks and Alchemic Labo. I appreciate lots of companies, but always gravitate towards these when I think about what I want to own.

For both companies, I just really love something about the sculpting style.

6. Do you have a preference for resin, vinyl or other?(i.e. ABS and other plastics)

Definitely resin, but I do have a couple of resin heads on Obitsu bodies, and some Blythe dolls. I'd be a bit nervous about the staining issues with vinyl, plus their aesthetic tends to be more anime. I like the aesthetic, but not to own.

7. Do you still have your first doll?

Yes (Sadame), but he's pretty yellow, and currently in the process of having a serious doll spa that may involve sanding...

8. Gush about your favourite doll.

I definitely can't pick a favourite, because there's something different I like about each of them. They all spark my imagination and make me start thinking up stories in my head.

9. Do you prefer dolls based on existing characters (official or custom), dolls based on your original characters, or dolls that are just dolls?

Dolls that are just dolls... kind of. I don't make characters for the dolls but after I get one, I do start to think about what clothes they should wear, how they should look in photos, and what sorts of accessories/props they should have. So I guess there's some loose character-building there.

10. Have you ever been to a doll/BJD focussed convention (e.g. Doll’s Party, IDoll, Doll Show, Resin Rose, L Doll, Dollism, PNW BJD Expo, Melbourne BJD Emporium etc). Would you like to? Which seems most interesting to you based on what you know?

Never, but I would love to go to any of them because I've never met another BJD owner in person. If I had to choose, I'd especially like to visit any of the conventions in Japan, purely because I would get to see more Volks dolls in person, and possibly some dealers that I've followed for a while.

11. How important is the photography side of the hobby to you? Do you enjoy photography and sharing photos or do you like to keep things to yourself?

It's really important, and always has been. Composing the photo, thinking about the lighting and the outfit and even props... so much fun. It's the main reason I started taking photos back in 2004 when I got my first doll. I like to share and I absolutely love to see photos of other dolls - definitely my happy place. My skills are highly dubious but I'm trying to put more effort in to backgrounds and lighting.

12. Have you ever travelled with a doll? Would you like to?

I actually took my first doll, Sadame, to Japan in 2006, and even brought him to Tenshi no Sato in Kyoto.

13. What’s your grail doll? If you don’t have one, do you have a ‘bucket list’ hobby wish - something you really want to be able to do/make/experience one day?

I have a shortlist of dolls I'd maybe like to adopt in future, but most of them are not too difficult to get. So, no grail.

For a bucket list item, I would mainly just like to build on my sewing and photography skills, and put more time into backgrounds and props. Maybe make doll shoes myself one day?

14. A magic doll fairy appears and decides to grant you a wish. She can make the type of (non-existent) doll you wish existed finally exist in reality. What is it?

That's a tough one! I'm not sure I'm really missing any kind of doll. Maybe the magic doll fairy can just make a resin that doesn't yellow... and then retroactively apply it to all my dolls.

15. What’s your piece of advice for a newbie?

This is an amazingly creative hobby. However, social media can make it seem like everyone is a speedy hobby genius and that they're churning out new dolls/new outfits/new photos every day. Not only is this usually not true, but there's nothing wrong with taking your time. If it's not enjoyable, don't do it.

Just because a person shares the same hobby as you, doesn't mean they are a good person. There are shitty people everywhere – and very good ones, of course. But don't let anyone tell you how to enjoy your hobby (unless they're telling you not to buy recasts, because then they're right).

And do your research when buying. There's of course the recast problem, but also look into prices, be a savvy buyer, and always make sure you are protected as a buyer and get shipping insurance.