To let go, to let-go-not
Sunday, 17. May 2026
I've been playing with the thought of selling one of my dolls lately. I just feel like I prioritise all others a lot more for various reasons and I'm not *as* inspired by them. I've also not properly picked them up for a long while and I'm not interested in having box babies (for context, I don't display my dolls and take them out when actively doing stuff with them - which is often enough tbh). BUT I'm also on the fence for many reasons!
Maybe it's good to list some good ol' pros and cons?
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To let go:
- Not so inspired to sew for them these days (which has become an important hobby perk for me);
- There's modding and maintenance I've been thinking of doing for a more put together doll for a WHILE but it's been impossible to gather the motivation for this and I'd much rather spend my available hobby time differently;
- Sometimes fiddly to handle;
- I still think 6 dolls is too many;
- I play with my other dolls more often and have more ideas for them;
- I'm not 100% happy with them, but I also don't want to change parts;
- I sometimes find it hard making them look as good as my other dolls when posing them together;
- If I ever wanted another doll, I'd have to let go of another one (1-in-1-out babeyyyy) and I'd have no doubts it would be this one;
- I have similar characteristics in my collection otherwise;
To let-go-not:
- Like most of my dolls, they're discontinued and rarely available second hand;
- Second hand market is flooded (especially DoA MP after the closure news) so it will be hard to find a buyer;
- They're a very special doll! And cute! And many people have said lovely things about them! (do I really collect dolls for others though?);
- I'm kind of attached to the faceup;
- Emotionally worth more than the (little) money I could get from the sale;
- definitely has been my favourite at some point in time;
I am further swayed by: I just moved and had to shift through a lot of stuff and I just... hate owning things, ngl haha. I'm kind of in a purging mood, I feel, and it's definitely changing my perspective on many things (it feels so good to get rid of stuff).
I'm also worried if I'd just want to add more dolls into the crew after selling, which is kind of besides the point and not very no-buy of me, and then we're back to 6.
Hmm.
I did take listing photos just in case - sometimes that's a way of knowing. It's happened before that I'd listed a doll and then taken it back immediately and I'm grateful I have. I haaaave also gone through with a sale and then been sad about it, but I just know I'd still be thinking of selling if I still had the doll. After all, it's just items, though... somewhat emotionally charged, but items.
I think I'll still sit on my hands about it a little. I'll try to spend some extra time with the doll and see if there's another spark somewhere... maybe it's also ok to own a doll that does not get as much attention all the time? Then again I'm so annoyed about having anything that doesn't see lots of use, I doubt I could live like this lol. What a strange hobby to be in!!!
The no-buy problem
Thursday, 30. April 2026
As long as I've been in this hobby (or any hobby?) I've struggled with some form of no-buy and no-buy-failing. Now, obviously, the BJD hobby is something that kind of requires buying... things... to participate in it as a baseline, but I choose to believe a moderation is possible. I'd like to be that moderate person! I can't stop buying little shoes.
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When I first actively got into the hobby ca 3 years ago (I've known about BJDs since I was like... 14? but only found myself at a position of expendable income in my 30s), I started off with the idea that:
- 2 dolls max
- same size, can share everything
- I must DIY everything
- yea fine, I'll get 1-2 pairs of shoes maybe
That failed very quickly when I accidentally ended up acquiring minis that were not, in fact, able to share a lot of things. And then I needed to get more dolls to still achieve my goal (duh!), but then I ended up with more than 2... 3... 4... 5... yeah. And then I got quite overwhelmed! It's also fair to mention they all need accessories and several changes of outfit possibilities. Even sewing all clothing and making most of the wigs myself, shoes/hats/eyes/supplies/service fees/shipping fees add up very fast money- and storage-requirement-wise. And when you get many small parcels regularly from proxies of some sort, it kind of starts getting weird, you know?
I do notice a pattern - I've been the same with makeup, drawing markers, sewing supplies, candle holders, bits for other hobbies... There's a certain grip this hobby purchase has. It comes back and again in waves, trying to fill some kind of a brain-worm-left hole. Suddenly I need this *thing* I didn't even think about the day before! The brain wants it's little dopamine, no matter how hard I rationalise. After the cycle repeats a couple of times, it really starts getting ridiculous imho.
I know there are many people who spend loads more and more often on the hobby and I don't think the money is why I'm so bothered by with my buying habits. The main reason I want to maintain some type of no-buy in this hobby is because the purchasing makes me rather anxious and isn't really fulfilling in the end. So many orders come in and I'm already beyond excitement and vow to never buy anything again (2 weeks later we are soooo back), not to mention the evergoing issue of items accumulating to overwhelming levels easily and the selling spiel is not that fun most of the time. It's just generating different anxieties instead of FUN that a hobby should do (or that I'd want it to do).
What I've always found much more enjoyment in is just playing with my dolls, making them stuff, finding DIY solutions. It's somehow much harder to grasp to, it's not an easy instant dopamine that my little broken brain seems to crave, but it leaves me feeling much more fulfilment. I've tried enforcing no-buy on myself every year (low success levels), but I'm especially determined in this one (income change, living costs, etc), although it's really clear how much of a lipstick economy we are living in at the moment and how hard it is to stay motivated with it.
It's easier to get a grip of it with dolls themselves, as they are quite a bit more expensive and take more space. I've been practicing a 1-in-1-out rule for the past year, and sold all the dolls I felt a bit *meh* about. I've now finally arrived at a point where I don't want to pass any of my crew on, but that also means none can come in - a fair deal, especially as selling-a-doll to buy-a-doll always made me lose money so it wasn't a sustainable practice after all. I sometimes feel a tinge about certain dolls I see on the marketplace, and am a bit sad I sold my MSD Myu, who I'd consider buying back someday, but I also have to be honest with the number of dolls I have the capacity to service and engage with, and the 6 I have now is more than enough.
I always felt a certain restlessness when I had dolls I wasn't sure about - this disappeared when I arrived at how things are now, so I'm quite happy. Funnily enough, the way I arrived at this in the end was asking myself "would I take this doll to Japan with me?" - I might not travel to Japan or any other place with my dolls (travel is stressful enough), but I realised that if I don't see the doll worthy of doing xyz with, there is no need for me to keep them with me either. It doesn't make sense for me to keep the ones that only bring me 75% of enjoyment instead of feeling all-in.
I realise I'm having a difficult relationship with a core thing in the BJD hobby - not-spending-money thoughts don't get rewarded easily here so it's a quite confusing space for me to be in, I guess. I also think that there are soooo many aspects that push us into consumerist approaches in hobbies these days as a larger societal thing, so I don't want to be super hard on myself either - although some boundaries are certainly necessary.
Despite all that, those resin peeps bring me so much joy, just having such little guys around is top notch time spent imo! It's worth overcoming a messy feeling about a hobby aspect just to keep having fun.
If you got to the end of this confusing (probably?) blog post, why not let me know via the guestbook! (I publish those comments manually - just let me know if you want the comment to stay private and I'll keep it so.)
Today's doll tax: new wigs for the lot that they really didn't need lol
They're really cute though
2026 hobby goals
Wednesday, 8. April 2026
Every year, I've been trying to set myself some doll goals (mostly has to do with not buying things and then failing several times throughout the year). In 2025 I set myself a "doll website" goal and ended up deleting it altogether so I didn't dare to write down the same thing in 2026... yet I somehow did end up putting one up again (mostly because of the DoA closure news).
I think I went a bit easier this year altogether, and it's already been like 3 months so let's check in below:
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The OG 2026 goals
- No-buy
Like every year, the general plan is not to buy more dolls (never works out)... I will allow myself one doll just to give myself some slack into my inevitable failure :| I've ended up missing something I sold this year, so I aim to buy the same mold back if I can find them. - Sew a lot
I want to do lots of sewing. I've gotten on a good roll with my sewing project journal so continuing that won't be hard, and I want to build up to doing slightly more detailed projects without getting frustrated about them. I also just want to use up some fabrics and yarns I have. - Make Wigs
I bought lots of wig hair this year but hardly made any wigs... perhaps '26 is the year for hair - Cosplay project
finish (and actually start) a cosplay project I've been planning for ages. Make costumes, wigs, accessories and a set for a photoshoot. Not gonna name it this time because I jinxed my Angelic Layer plans I had for 2025 it seems - Take photos on film
Set up my analogue camera again and take some doll photos on film! I struggle photographing my 1/3s, but I think this could be cool to do with them.
1st quarter check-in:
- No-buy
I already failed this before January when I purchased Morrow. I've also bought wigs and some option hands... Needs work for sure! - Sew a lot
I've been sewing so much and gotten on a very good roll. I've also been sewing for myself for a change! I hope to carry on in the same manner. - Make Wigs
Made 3 wigs, learned a new hair-parting technique! - Cosplay project
Scrapped the idea of going full on with the costumes, but I did finish my Revolutionary Girl Utena Cosplay and I'm very proud of pulling through with it! - Take photos on film
I bought film and have been taking shots every now and again. I'm trying to stretch it out as long as I can (film photography is not cheap these days!) but I'm very curious what will come out form this.
Some things have also gone *better* than expected: I made a website again, transferred project journals, will try to start a blog? I will be checking back in the end of June to see how the rest has progressed.
I think I'd also like to also add a new goal:
- Keep up with website/blog/rss feeds
I also made a tumblr earlier, but I'm already overwhelmed by the feed so idk how much I'll do there... But the website I'd like to stick with!
If you made it so far - let me know in the guestbook! I'd love to know if anyone checks in and reads!
Today's doll tax:
