Collection Obsession : Over 500 Dolls

[absynthe1972]

I overlooked the interviewer because the whole doll collecting hobby just seemed so way over his head. I'm sure if it was a guy and a Harley Collection, Mr. Interviewer would be wetting his pants with excitement. If I've offended any guys here, sorry, but that's just how the interviewer seemed.

Art and I were talking about the big collection. I have about 20 porcelain dolls and 12 bjds (1:6 to 1:3 scale, not to mention the tinies). Art was flabbergasted that I have so many of the bjds...but he seems to discount the tinies and the 1:6. I would seriously be happy to have more...but 500 is slightly out of reach. 12, right now, is out of reach, too. Ha ha ha! IF the dolls weren't so expensive, I'd have even more.

As for collections...I have cameras (15 and I use them all!), thousands of books, old vinyl records and by golly if I had a turntable, I'd be playing them and still buying them.

I think what blew me away was the 500 number and seeing the inside of her house. The way she had them displayed was very neat! The work that went into creating them just amazes me, the same with our bjds! Talk about talent! I can see why she'd want to collect them. And she's happy but that 500 number really does scare me.

When does a collection of what we love turn into hoarding? That might be my biggest fear.

[DollyKim]

Collectors want to show their stuff off, hoarders want to hide it.

[Stormlight]

Ummm ... okay, going to have to go with the interviewer on this one. Some of those dolls ARE scary. O__o Crypt Kitties? Seriously, never heard of them, but baby dolls with horns and fangs and creepy, staring eyes do not equal cute. That sort of thing should be left to BJDs, not child dolls. ^^; I do, however, think the sleeping babies are completely awesome. I'd LOVE to get one of those and display it in a little cradle in my living room or something, just for the sheer creep-factor to non-doll-loving people. lol

As for hoarding, I dunno, that woman seems to be borderline-hoarding. But so long as it's possible to still walk through a room without tripping over anything or maneuvering through a maze, I think she's still safe. ^^; Still, the glimpses I caught of her house, with her dolls displayed on basically every piece of furniture ... yikes. If someone is hoarding, dolls are definitely a better way to go than food or trash. I've seen a few episodes of that show Hoarders. Now THOSE are people in serious need of therapy. The smell alone would probably knock a person off his feet just stepping inside the door. Dolls at least don't stink, and don't attract rats and mice who then die and decompose buried under all that rubble. ^^;

I dunno, if I had a big enough house and enough money, I'd definitely let my BJD collection grow larger than it is. I'd devote an entire room just to the dolls, and store/display them museum-style with stands and shelves and such. I'd also keep a few here and there around the house, tucked into corners in nice display cases or on their own of furniture (I'd love to buy some of those awesome chaise couches Dollmore sells, but the shipping alone makes me choke a bit). Don't think that'll be happening for awhile, but it's nice to dream.

I think if done right, a house full of dolls could look really nice. Honestly, I think the key to artistic vs. cluttered is HOW dolls (or any hobby, really) is displayed. To me, ten or fifteen dolls crammed onto a couch in the middle of the room just looks cluttered. One can't fullly appreciate them because there are so many it's just distracting.

[arrowchild]

Gah...that interviewer really is condescending. And that lovely woman handles it SO very well! Good for her for not getting offended and/or rattled lol

Personally, I could never, ever have that many dolls. I sometimes feel overwhelmed with the amount I have now and between my resins and little vinyls I'm not quite at 20. But everyone is different when it comes to collecting and their personal comfort zones

Oh and...she defiantely doesn't seem like a hoarder by the by. My husband's immediate family has a couple of horders in it-it's a horrible, horrible disorder that unfortunately I've been privy to for years now. Believe me, nothing about her house really resembles a horder's house and her behavior/openness about how many dolls she has doesn't point to it either.

[Stormlight]

She's probably used to that sort of response by now, that's why she handled it so well. lol She has to know some people who don't share the hobby are going to react to those dolls negatively, especially the creepy horned and fanged ones.

I'm not saying the woman IS a hoarder. I know the real disorder is a LOT worse than that. But I do think her house is really cluttered-looking, but that's just my personal opinion. Years ago, I used to babysit for a woman who collected porcelain dolls. She had at least a hundred, and had them displayed in a really nice way. Her house was small, but her collection always made me think of an art gallery or something, with lighting and nice shelves and such. It was beautiful and quite elegant. That's how I'd love to display my dolls, as well.

[arrowchild]

That's true! It's really nice to see her not take the bait and just roll with it though

I have dreams of making some sort of elegant display for my BJD one day too. As of now, they all reside in the coverted comp. armoire/resin 'condo' lol

[1/6andtinylover]

...can I say this?

*takes of glasses* OVER FIVE HUNDRED!!!!! *shot*

[absynthe1972]

I think if done right, a house full of dolls could look really nice. Honestly, I think the key to artistic vs. cluttered is HOW dolls (or any hobby, really) is displayed. To me, ten or fifteen dolls crammed onto a couch in the middle of the room just looks cluttered. One can't fullly appreciate them because there are so many it's just distracting.

Her house reminds of House on the Rock in Wisconsin. There's a carousel that's just for dolls. It's really the neatest thing I've ever seen. It's also HUGE! If I were to do something like she's doing with the dolls, I'd have to have an open house and charge admission. ;D

[Lamia of the Dark]

I probably have between 75-100 dolls, all told (mostly Sailor Moon and other anime dolls, only a few BJD types.) And hundreds of action figures and figurines. It's not so hard to believe.

[DollyKim]

I want to make more displays for my plastic peoples, dolls, action figures, and some way old school figurines, so I can play with them more. I wouldn't mind having a doll house in that sense.

If you opened your house and charged admission you should add guided tours. Between unwatched children wanting to play and unwatched adults wanting to steal you'd need to protect your treasures. I used to display my Trekkers in places, fairs, libraries etc, and would have grown adults trying to pry the cases open to get at them Kids left nose and finger prints.