Five Years

Greetings!

 

This year (2017) marks my fifth year in the doll hobby. In those 5 years, I have brought home a grand total of 10 little angels: 6 Volks Dollfie Dreams and 4 Smart Dolls. It still amazes me when I see all 10 of them together. If you asked me 5 years ago if I would have 10 dolls in the future, I would have thought you were crazy.

 

I first joined the doll hobby back in October 2012 when I welcomed my first little angel Hanako. At the time, I was a poor college student who recently learned that not all ball-jointed dolls are creepy. I also joined at probably the worst time: Volks was all out of Dollfie Dream bodies and standard models, meaning I had to suffer the aftermarket gauntlet to bring home my first doll. But bring her home I did, just in time for my birthday, making my entry into the doll hobby even more special.

 

It's been a wonderful 5 years with my first girl Hanako and her 9 sisters: doll meets, anime conventions, gushing over cute photos, and enabling more people to join the hobby. The doll hobby has had a big impact on my life, and the experiences have been awesome.

 

Here's to many more fun-filled years in this fantastic hobby!

 

Congrats! I'd love to see a group pic of all 10 of them if you have the time.

Congrats, and here's to another 5 for you!

Happy Anniversary to you!

Happy Birthday to Hanako!

 

I second the motion: group photo!

Congratulations on your 5th anniversary! Amazing how a hobby can take hold

Thank you everyone!

Congrats! I'd love to see a group pic of all 10 of them if you have the time.

Happy Anniversary to you!

Happy Birthday to Hanako!

 

I second the motion: group photo!

Since you asked so nicely, here they are!

Top Row (left to right): Ami, Celeste, Iowa (previously Katori from KanColle), Hatsune Miku Append (wearing Racing Miku 2012 attire), Hatsune Miku

Bottom Row (left to right): Hanako, Mariko, Uzuki Shimamura (cosplaying as Katori from KanColle), Snow Miku, Mirai Suenaga (wearing Senbonzakura attire)

Family photo!

 

I have to ask since I haven't seen a DD or SD Iowa before. Is her outfit custom? And she looks so happy being in the center.

 

Oh, and I like how Ami's shirt and pants match her hair while the hoodie matches her eyes.

Congrats on your five year mark! It's a big one for sure, I'm glad you've had lots of fun in that time and hope you have lots more!

 

Also, great family photo! You have some adorable girls in there.

 

 

Billy

Family photo!

 

I have to ask since I haven't seen a DD or SD Iowa before. Is her outfit custom? And she looks so happy being in the center.

 

Oh, and I like how Ami's shirt and pants match her hair while the hoodie matches her eyes.

My Iowa is a Smart Doll, specifically the Kizuna Yumeno sculpt with Twilight's eyes (though I want to change those later; I don't like Kizuna's angry eyebrows that much, and Iowa has star-spangled pupils).

 

The Iowa outfit, the Racing Miku 2012 outfit, and the Katori outfit are all made by a Japanese doll circle called Cherry Milk. They regularly make licensed outfits from various properties, from Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Idolmaster to KanColle and Vocaloid. Cherry Milk regularly participates in Wonder Festival (WonFes), an event held twice a year that showcases new and upcoming items from lots of companies in the hobby industry, so that's when you can expect to see new material from them and where they initially sell the outfits.

 

As for acquiring the outfits after their initial sale period at WonFes, the only options available are secondhand and YJA. I got the Racing Miku 2012 outfit secondhand from a comrade in Sweden, while the Katori and Iowa outfits were both from YJA in like-new condition. In general, YJA is a safe bet for Cherry Milk outfits, as most sellers are reasonable and honest with their sales posts.

 

Thank you for your kind words about Ami! I wasn't really aiming to have her shirt and pants match her hair, as I plan to find her a nice set of blue twintails to match how she appears in PSO2. As for her eyes and hoodie, that was intentional. I really like the color blue, and so does she!

 

Congrats on your five year mark! It's a big one for sure, I'm glad you've had lots of fun in that time and hope you have lots more!

 

Also, great family photo! You have some adorable girls in there.

 

 

Billy

Thanks Billy! Being adorable is what my little angels do best.

You put quite a bit of work into Iowa. And more in the future so it seems!

 

I know Wonder Festival very well, I've attended when able since 2007. Although the "been able" part has been a sizable gap in recent years. Next time I'm able, I'll look up Cherry Milk in the guide book. Shame I saw and appreciated so much at previous WonFes, but I hadn't yet taken the leap at that time.

 

Oh, looking forward to Ami's new look!

Cherry Milk stuff shows up on Mandarake sometimes, at very high prices for the Miku stuff at least. Also there is Ginger Tea http://ginger.3rin.net/ who I don't know if are related or just make similar stuff. Based on pics at Mandarake, both seem to be packaged with the same kinds of labeling.

Wow, five years! I can't believe it's been that long! Hanako looks as sweet as usual. I'm looking forward to see more posts of you and your daughters Techno.