Where does your dolly passion come from?

[chelluvsbabies]

For me it's just something that, as a young girl, I noticed I was just drawn to anything CUTE. Whether it be a puppy, a kitten, a baby, and of course my biggest attraction DOLLS!
As a child, I could not visit any store without making mom please take a quick stop down the toy section. Even if it was just to have a look.
So I would say, my passion for dolls comes from my childhood and as an adult, I can say nothing has changed. Still the same passion for dolls that I had as a child. Still love all things cute! My biggest passion, of course......baby dolls!

[Californiateri]

I've loved dolls and babies since I was about 2 years old. I think it's some kind of a "gene" - you either have it or you don't.

[teresabsummer10]

For me it's just something that, as a young girl, I noticed I was just drawn to anything CUTE. Whether it be a puppy, a kitten, a baby, and of course my biggest attraction DOLLS!
As a child, I could not visit any store without making mom please take a quick stop down the toy section. Even if it was just to have a look.
So I would say, my passion for dolls comes from my childhood and as an adult, I can say nothing has changed. Still the same passion for dolls that I had as a child. Still love all things cute! My biggest passion, of course......baby dolls!

Me TOO!

[chelluvsbabies]

Teri, I think your right Teresa we share a passion

[OddlySweet_Lacey]

I was never a doll collector, and still not when it comes to reborns. My Grandma had walls filled with porcelain dolls and scared the crap outta me when I was a child haha. But when I came across the reborn industry years and years ago ago & I was blown away. I've been a self taught makeup artist and I wanted to know how they were made. I then fell in love with the artistry which has become my passion! My passion is to take these dolls and make people think outside of the box and try to stay ahead of the game with new ideas that I don't see anyone else creating. I love the creativity and freedom it gives me. And honestly, I began working on these dolls a few months before my mom suddenly passed away at the age of 44, and I threw myself into it. I believe it really helped with the sadness & depression I was dealing with at the time. The reborn community has been amazing. I just love to create and I love my collectors! So my passion is fed from all y'all!

[LollipopCradle_Paula]

I always loved dolls as a child. After I officially became "too old" for my own dolls, it was okay for me to play dolls with my little sister and her friend (what a great big sister I was! . Of course they eventually out grew dolls. I've since always admired dolls but didn't know until a couple of years ago that it was okay for me to have my own dolls. My little girls have always had dolls. My first two children were boys and they each had a doll. I wont make the mistake of letting my girls think they can outgrow dolls. My oldest daughter is 14 and has a doll collection. She still has all of her American Girl dolls and two reborns she painted and one I painted- all on display in her bedroom.

[Sandis Doll House]

I can't ever remember a time when I didn't own dolls. Out of all of my 4 sisters, I am the only doll lover. My mom loved my dolls but that's it. It's a lonley thing to get a new doll and so one to share it with. Mama loved when I got a new doll.

[Debbie]

I've always loved dolls and stuffed toys. My mother loved them, so it was always ok for me to love something cuddly and soft. ; ) Mom collected teddy bears until she passed away in 2013. There must have been 500 bears in her house. ; )

[Annette]

I was never interested in dolls when I was younger. But, when I was about 4, my Grandad bought me an AA doll, which I loved, simply because he gave it to me. Then the next doll I got, was when I was about 11, and asked for a "teenage" doll for Christmas (kind of like a very large Barbie, made by Pedigree). Those were the only two I ever had until 1988, when my sister made me a Sugar Britches porcelain doll for Christmas. That was it! I got hooked on baby dolls, and started painting my own porcelain dolls. Lifesize toddlers and babies. Then I was introduced to Lee Middleton dolls, and so on.
And my collection and love of baby dolls of all kinds, has grown over the years. And reborning has been part of that too.
As my husband has observed, this has been the longest I've ever had a hobby of any kind.

[heatherisdolliecrazy]

i have always loved dolls too. Since i was a child. I got my first doll at 6 months old from "Santa". I just always loved dolls. I remember always going to the toy section in every store just to look at the dolls. I always loved baby dolls. Always wanted baby dolls that looked real. I would get at least one doll (usually more) every birthday and every Christmas. When i was 5 my grandma had been on a trip and brought me back a porcelain doll. That was when i officially became a collector. I remember in the window of the drug store there was a musical "Walda" doll i wanted so bad. I ended up getting her for my 6th birthday from my mom. At about age 11 i started to earn my own money. I would babysit my cousins and i had a paper route. I saved all that money towards dolls. Once i got graduated college and got a job i started to buy on ebay and from forums such as this one. I still save all my extra money for dolls. While my friends go out and drink and buy drugs i stay home saving my money for dolls

[tixiepixi_linda]

I agree with you have the gene or don't line of thinking

Disappointingly for me, my 2 daughters and 3 granddaughters don't have it....despite lots of encouragement from me (I think I played with their dolls more than them though )

[tracey427]

I have loved dolls as long as I can remember. My Thumbelina I carried everywhere with me she had a string you pulled and she moved. I carried her so much that I wore the string right off. But I still loved her as much as ever!!! Then there was baby Chrissy, regular Chrissy, Velvet and TONS of Barbies. However my drive to have to have them happened after my mother (and I use that word loosely) after abandoning me as a 7 year old....decided when I moved as an adult to sell everyone of my dolls and their accessories for $5 at a garage sale. She was supposed to be storing them for me for three months until I got settled in TX. When I asked her why (I was 25 years old) she said and I quote "to get back at your father" Now mind you she walked out on me. Dad was gone (to another state for work) it was my birthday and she looked at me and said "your father will be home in two days" and left. How she thought selling my dolls was getting back at him I will never know (she's been dead for 25 years now) al she did was break my heart again.

So after she died I decided that I would buy dolls, any kind I wanted and no one could ever take them from me again. I started collecting out of spite but I collect now out of love of dolls

[Heidi]

As little girl I always dreamed about a realistic looking doll. When I first came across with reborns; I was thrilled, magnetized. Is this the right word
Since that I am addicted!

[bornanna]

I've always loved them...Cloth dolls, china dolls, Bonnie Brae, Tiny Tears, Miss Revlon, Ginger, Shirley Temple, Alide in Wonderland...I remember my Doll Cradle and how I was once small enough to fit in it...their tiny clothes and pretty faces. I was the only girl in my family. .so the Dolls were all mine.
I had many I carried with me, gave to my daughters who eventually passed them on too. I may no longer have them to touch and dress, but I will never forget them and the joy they brought. ..to me and others.
The Reborns feed my memories.

[lifesabeachbabyKim]

My love of dolls probably stems from my love of miniatures. I love miniature anything and now that BJD's and fashion dolls have come so far in their clothing and accessories it is really addictive. Also I recently(the last year) have gotten into antique and vintage compo dolls. I love how these were made and the history behind each new doll I get makes me daydream about their original owner/s. The who, what, when and where of antique doll collecting is fascinating to me.

[patty n dolls]

For me it's just something that, as a young girl, I noticed I was just drawn to anything CUTE. Whether it be a puppy, a kitten, a baby, and of course my biggest attraction DOLLS!
As a child, I could not visit any store without making mom please take a quick stop down the toy section. Even if it was just to have a look.
So I would say, my passion for dolls comes from my childhood and as an adult, I can say nothing has changed. Still the same passion for dolls that I had as a child. Still love all things cute! My biggest passion, of course......baby dolls!

Me TOO!

The same for me!
Patty

[HushabyeMargie]

Good question! I have to agree with the "dolly gene" theory. When I was little, most little girls had at least one doll. Looking back, I think I was the only one who treated my doll like a real baby. Even my sister left her composition doll out in the rain one night...it was ruined...and she didn't seem to care. I was horrified. I had other dolls but only really bonded with the baby dolls. I changed my dolly's clothes every day, tucked her in at night, fed her, made sure she was safe while I was at school. I still have the doll I got for my 6th birthday and the one from my 8th birthday. I was not able to give them up when mom said I should hand them down to my little sisters.

I never really saw them as art until my last child was born. I've bought and sold many collections since then. I've kept the best examples from each and moved on as dolly world moved on.

I've always been driven to acquire the forlorn and forgotten...not just in dolls...and fix them up to be all they can be. Reborning, combining my natural creativity with my love of baby dolls, was a perfect match.

[Anna12301]

I have always loved dolls.. I would be curious to know how many feel this hobby is in some cases fueled by anxiety, depression and/or a significant loss of some kind in a persons life that makes them feel connected to these realistic pieces of art that look like children.
This would be the case for me.

[KeishaJay]

I remember treating my Cabbage Patch dolls like real babies, and I always liked the baby dolls over the bigger ones. I think my obsession (wink, wink ;P) with reborns came from seeing the incredible artistry behind them. I love being creative, and these babies are just so fun to make.

[bornanna]

I have always loved dolls.. I would be curious to know how many feel this hobby is in some cases fueled by anxiety, depression and/or a significant loss of some kind in a persons life that makes them feel connected to these realistic pieces of art that look like children.
This would be the case for me.

I have witnessed the calm that comes over someone when they hold these baby dolls...men and women, young people, older, those who have lost a loved one be it a child or adult...of course for those who have dementia they have found it to be therapeutic. I just love a baby...so comforting as well. It is a type of therapy for many I am sure. The sculpting, or painting...creating and pouring that creativity into something that resembles a BABY...it brings out the best in us.