Collecting and Not Breaking the Bank

On a fashion doll board recently someone had said they just wanted to sell all their dolls, get out of the debt the doll purchases had brought and move on with their life. That they loved the dolls, but they were almost obsession level and it needed to stop. She asked for our opinions, how we managed - or didn't - and it made me think about the realities of collecting anything.

Really, this is the doll collecting version of "When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout."

Veruca Gestalt is not amused, as all funds should funnel her way ...

I've come to be of the mind that a hobby is to be enjoyed; it shouldn't cause stress and it shouldn't encroach on your needs. Family, pets, bills, and um ... non-internet social life are all much much more important. It seems like when anyone first starts a hobby, or a new aspect of an existing hobby, common sense goes right out the window.

Doll collecting had taken over in this way when I wasn't feeling good about what was going on in my life (so easy for that to happen to anyone). The rush of winning a new doll or desirable and hard-to-find outfit made me feel temporarily better and that began to impinge on the rest of my life. A vicious circle of happiness and self-condemnation. This was obvious to everyone but me back in my Barbie collecting days; stoppping by Toys R Us on the way home from work just for time in the "pink aisle" is a sure cry for help.

It tapered off eventually (to just vintage Babs) before I stopped collecting Barbie altogether from boredom; too much pink, too much repetition, too much hype for a mass produced thing. I still love my Barbies, but only have the "nostalgia" ones now, the ones I had and loved as a child.

But not long after abandoning full-time Barbie I was enabled into 16" fashion dolls, mainly Tonner, and soon I found myself buying them hand over fist, filling that social need that collecting dolls and sharing them with other collectors online gave. I'm a stay-at-home-Mom so it was getting put on credit cards ... as much as I tried to only buy what I could after selling some of my existing collection, it didn't quite work that way. At one point I had about fifty 16" fashion dolls. Not a lot - to some collectors perhaps - but more than our budget could handle.

And like Barbie, I became disillusioned with the 16" scale fashion dolls; too much fouf, too much repetition, too much hype for a mass produced thing - albeit in smaller masses. My first love in dolls has always been art dolls and I needed more substance to my dolls than these could give. Mass produced fashion dolls are fun, and their creators are lovely people, but I recognized that I personally needed something different ...

This is the main reason I got into BJDs, after enough exposure to them I began to see the creative art aspect to them that was beyond mere lovliness. Having just a few of these more expensive dolls - that can be modified and individualized - has quelled my need to buy buy buy because I am finally satisfied with what I have. A good place to be; somplace I try to be with other aspects of life, and should have embraced with my hobby long ago.

So, I sold off the fashion dolls (and more of the leftover Barbies) and I got deeper into BJDs. And yes, I even went a little crazy and bought three so far this year ... well, one was planned, but one was a deal not to be passed up, and one was true impulse, an impulse that turned out to be a good thing.

La diva Veruca still thinks those big resin things are freaks.
Tough cookies honey ...

I feel now like my collection is manageable; knowing what I have without having to look. The collection contains about a dozen each of 16" fashion dolls and Barbies, a couple of Sashas, a Sybarite, and five large (super dollfie size) BJDs.

As part of the beauty of BJDs is their individuality - in my case mine wear clothes I've made - this saves cash. And each of my other dolls have only the clothes on their backs. Veruca, my Sybarite, is another story, her diva-ness deserves a wardrobe - but it's not as big as it was.

Hubby and I have agreed that if I want a doll (especially a BJD) that we will discuss before I purchase; do layaways where I can, budget, prioritize ...

And what I've found really works to get me to calm down buying is to MAKE A WISH LIST. The Wish List is the coolest kind of list going; it's almost like having the doll already, because there in black and white is at least the dream of having that "it." What also helps is having next to each item how much it costs and where funds for it could/would come from - just to throw in the practical aspect back in the mix.

I have only seven dolls on that list currently; about half of those I may never buy, but they are there to remind myself of what other desires might be. There are accessories on the list and even a couple vintage Barbie outfits to look for while prices are low. Will I buy all of these? Probably not. But there have been times I've gone to add something to the list, and after reading it over have decided not to.

My priorities now are sewing for dolls (which I haven't been as productive with as I'd like lately, but that's another issue), mainly BJDs, but would like to sew for Sasha, too. So, oddly, at the top of my wish list is a blue-eyed Sasha (my current have brown eyes); preferably somewhat worn, missing hair plugs, so I can make her a mohair wig and have her be my rag-a-muffin girl. That's pretty humble and far from wanting the whole "Limited Edition Princesses of the Seasons Series."

Forget what the collecting crowd you chat or meet with all want, forget the limited editions/exclusives/convention specials, forget the excitement of new releases, look at what makes you happy ... and recognize that part of that happiness is being able to pay the bills.