Claire has been with us for only about a week at this point, and I just can’t keep myself from spoiling her! I like knowing that I can dress her up in whatever I think is cute and she won’t complain or ruin her clothes. I’ve been hearing some suggestions that wanting a doll that’s like a little girl is like wanting a child, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! Continue reading
Monthly Archives: November 2009
She Has Arrived
Well, that much-awaited day finally arrived. My package from Crescent Shop was delivered safely, and I now have a Volks MSD “Nagisa in Preschool” to call my own.
Yesterday started off a bit on the rough side. I had left the city to visit relatives on Friday night, hoping to return Saturday morning. I don’t own a car because I use public transportation, but this means that when I am out in the suburbs I am subject to the whims of whoever is kind enough to take me to the train station. I had plans for part of the day, so I couldn’t stay out until any old time, but I didn’t end up on a train heading back in until just after noon~ I worried the whole way, because I had an appointment to meet with Claudia’s new owner and transfer her. Continue reading
Volks USA Review
On the evening of Sunday, November 8, I placed an order with Volks USA for several restringing supplies, an MSD-sized wig, and an MSD-sized dress.
Everything went well during check out process, but when I woke up on Monday morning I realized that I had forgotten to ask for any of the Super Dollfie instructional manga in the comments field. I emailed Volks USA Monday morning and asked if they would be able to include the relevant manga in my package. I promptly received a reply acknowledging my request and stating that the pamphlets would be added to my order. Continue reading
Crescent Shop Review
On Friday, October 30, a friend of mine was nice enough to drop by my house to let me borrow clothing for an event the next day–a Halloween-related tea party. She was even nicer, and brought with several of her Volks ball-jointed dolls so that I could see them in person. I had just recently attended a ball-jointed doll meetup for our area, curious to see Volks dolls in the Super Dollfie and Mini Super Dollfie sizes, but I still had questions. It’s lovely to see other people’s dolls, and everyone at the meetup was very nice, but I was too anxious about harming someone’s precious possession to hold, pose, and really examine the dolls I was most curious about. It’s much easier to do something like this with a friend, who knows you better and thus has more trust…and it’s less embarrassing to ask stupid questions! Continue reading
Sentimental Feelings
I still have a hard time explaining how things were with my first doll, Claudia. I realize that I’ve been a very vocal advocate of Rosette Doll, and I still am. I still think they make an amazing product. My experience with the company has been overwhelmingly positive despite the very long shipping wait time dealing with a brand new company (although they are a SOOM subsidiary). I think that the Rosette Dolls are gorgeous and well worth a long wait, even with an imprecise shipping date. I still think that Violet is the most beautiful of the Rosette Dolls, and I absolutely love her beyond a doubt. Continue reading
Increasing Excitement!
This is one of the best things I have seen in a long time!!!
When I logged into Crescent Shop and checked the status of my pending shipment (which is still “processing”), I saw a new and ~beautiful~ icon. An icon that had not previously existed. An icon that proclaims that my Nagisa in Preschool will be packed up soon! Continue reading
Oh That Waiting Game
While waiting for my auction to arrive to and be shipped from Crescent Shop, I’ve been completely fixated on dolls and doll accessories. I’ve browsed the wig section of every major ball-jointed doll retailer. I’ve overloaded my internet browser with tab after tab of meticulously photographed doll outfits…most of which are out of stock anyway. I’ve scrutinized the measurements of every “MSD”-sized shoe, wondering which would fit on my incoming doll’s chubby little feet. My person suffered through discussion after discussion about the “right” kind of items for the doll who wasn’t even in transit yet. Continue reading
Creating a Character within a Doll
While I’m waiting for news of my recent purchase, I can’t stop thinking about all of the possibilities for her. Unlike most ball-jointed doll owners, I don’t have characters in mind when I purchase dolls.
I’ve only ever been an extremely casual writer, and the attachment to my characters isn’t one where I hope to embody them. I find that the majority of ball-jointed doll owners (or at least those who are most visible) are writers with a desire to see their beloved characters in a tangible form. These are the people who plan every aspect of a doll down to the last detail. They don’t only know what colour eyes their doll should have–they know the price shade, depth, and speckling that should be present. They hunt endlessly for that perfect wig, frowning at a shade that is slightly off in tint, and contenting themselves that the current wig will be a placeholder until they find the right one. Continue reading
Patience Is A Virtue…But It’s So Hard!
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my soon-to-be doll, Volks Mini Super Dollfie Nagisa in Preschool, ever since I won the auction. There were a few bumps in the road, which I worried would cast a negative light on a (hopefully) happy doll arrival, but so far I’m not holding a grudge.
The auction for Nagisa in Preschool was my first time using Crescent Shop as a shopping service; usually I bid on Yahoo!Japan Auctions via Celga. However, I discovered the auction on such short notice that I didn’t think Celga would be able to bid on it in time. Crescent Shop, on the other hand, uses a real-time bidding system. However, I failed to realize several key differences in the payment system for Crescent Shop when I registered–I was simply too anxious and excited; I didn’t pay attention to certain parts of their instructions. Continue reading
Looking for Little Beauty
The other day a friend of mine was kind enough to let me interact more with some of her ball-jointed dolls. She’s the only person I know very well who collects or is interested in ball-jointed dolls, so I had been talking to her a bit about my doll-related dilemma. I specifically wanted to contact her because she owns a great deal of Volks dolls, and I have been looking intensively at the Volks offerings. I prefer youthful adorable stylings as opposed to the look of mature teenagers or adults.
While looking around the website, I was enchanted by the face sculpt for the Volks Super Dollfie “Nono.” Large eyes always catch my attention, and something about her proportions appealed to me. (There is a similarity in the way her face is sculpted in comparison to that of Rosette Doll Violet, although they certainly don’t have the same type of look. Both have expressive eyes and downplayed noses and mouths.) Due to my attraction to the sculpt, I toyed with the idea of purchasing a Super Dollfie Nono–although I couldn’t quite decide on the standard or creating a Full Choice System doll. Continue reading