Hi from Tokyo!

Hi! I'm Rin - been lurking on the forums for a long time, but I'm not new to the hobby (started collecting Dollfie Dream way back in 2009! I'm getting old lol). My partner @condogenate has been trying to get me to post for a while but I can be really shy.

So a little about myself...I'm from NJ, USA but moved to Tokyo for university in summer 2022 with @condogenate and our three black cats. I'm hoping (and trying my best) to make this my permanent home as I think my decision to move here was probably the best decision I could have made. It's both great and not-so-great in terms of doll hobby as well - on one hand, I'm very happy with how my doll collection has shaped up since we've been here, but on the other hand, easy access to doll stuff is not great on a student budget. 🤣 Lately I enjoy doing faceups and going to local meetups! @condogenate and I tend to frequent Volks Doll Point a lot, but sometimes the crowds at Radio Kaikan can be a bit much for me. 😰

I'm not much of a photographer since that's @condogenate's forte, but I do intend on sharing mine in our collection myself too. I'm oddly proud(?) of how my dolls are turning out and have a couple more projects to work on over the upcoming summer break!

...this was a bit long winded. Anyway, nice to meet you all!

Edited July 17 by rudebuster

F*CKIN' FINALLY.

I'm sure some people on here were starting to think I was talking about someone who didn't exist. 😜 I too also think moving here and getting the hell out of Bumf*ck, NJ was one of our better decisions. Not that we have too many of those, but one of them. That Hellhound was not one of them. I'm not entirely fond of the university aspect, but what are we going to do. 🤷‍♀️ It was either that or Wawa. 🕊️ K-12 were the worst years of my life, but university seems much more accommodating; so I'll give it that.

Your faceups, btw, have been phenomenal lately. ❤️ I would want you to keep that up, but I know you would never offer your services, and we don't need any more dolls. So I'm not sure what to do on that front. 😔 And I wouldn't exactly consider myself a photographer, my photos are ass.

Nice to meet you too! Twenty-three years ago. Whatever. 🦈

lol I can't say I'm entirely thrilled about university myself, but I'll definitely take it over Wawa - and K-12. Plus we're here, and that's something to keep going forward with! 

I wouldn't exactly say they're phenomenal, but I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little bit proud of the faceups. 😜 Yeah, I don't think I am anywhere near a level where I can offer services, unfortunately, but I definitely want to keep going! I can always improve on the ones I've done and re-do them, you know. Make 'em even better! Plus I want to try my hand at Mr. Three-Eyes over break. 😈 

You hush about your photos!

Hi, I'm excited to finally meet you! I don't tend to know the anime y'all have dolls of (I'm incredibly behind on anime in general), but I think your faceups are incredible! Seeing you two makes me a little excited for my own future too, if I may tangent; I'm hoping to move in with my girlfriend soon, who adores dolls and who I have been steadily infodumping about BJDs and vinyl dolls for the past year. She wants one of her own, so I hope soon I can collab on dolls with her like you two do!

Welcome to the forum. I kind of wish I could live in Japan for a while, although I did visit 4 times between 2007-10. I missed the big 2011 earthquake by 99 days. I didn't collect dolls at that time, but I still do have a lot of books, figures and gadgets I brought back with me.

I used to teach English/IT in China but 2020 put an end to that career. Teaching was a lot of fun though.

I'll see if I can visit Japan again some day. I think I'll have to abandon the plan to move out there as I have way to much stuff (i.e. dolls) and the exchange rate has been crushed lately. But the biggest problem would be deciding which doll to take with me, and who would go into storage.

In the meantime I'm kind of buying up the entirety of Akihabara, and shipping it back to the UK 😲.

37 minutes ago, PlasticJester said:

Seeing you two makes me a little excited for my own future too, if I may tangent; I'm hoping to move in with my girlfriend soon, who adores dolls and who I have been steadily infodumping about BJDs and vinyl dolls for the past year. She wants one of her own, so I hope soon I can collab on dolls with her like you two do!

It's nice to see we're not the only ones here, haha! I'm happy for you, and I hope you get your wish. And believe me, collab-ing on dolls with your girlfriend (or waifu, in our case) is one of the best things ever. It's a lifestyle; it just creates so many things that you two can do together. ❤️

Welcome to the forum! Have fun and try not to bankrupt yourself.  

Hullo, Rin! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You're an OG Dollfie lover! 2009 was my entry into this hobby too, though I ended up going with Pullip and BJD because Dollfie was out of my price range.

It's okay to be shy. Take your time. I'm more of a lurker myself- you can only do what your social battery allows. Local meetups sound fun, especially in the heart of Dollfie territory. Can definitely see why this is good and bad simultaneously, especially with Mandarake, DollyTeria, and local shops around too.

By the looks of it you're a honed and talented customizer, and you should be proud of your work. We look forward to seeing more of it as you and Condogenate feel like sharing. Thank you for joining us here. We hope you both settle in comfortably.

8 hours ago, PolitelyNefarious said:

By the looks of it you're a honed and talented customizer, and you should be proud of your work. We look forward to seeing more of it as you and Condogenate feel like sharing. Thank you for joining us here. We hope you both settle in comfortably.

Thank you for complimenting my waifu's work. She has very low self-esteem and I think hearing this sort of thing would help her a lot (as much as she denies it, lols). I appreciate it very much. 🙏

22 hours ago, Xiongmao said:

Welcome to the forum. I kind of wish I could live in Japan for a while, although I did visit 4 times between 2007-10.

Haha, you beat my record! I visited four times between 2007-2013. Once in 2007, once in 2008-2009 (@rudebuster and I stayed through the new year), once in 2010, and once in 2013. Of course, @rudebuster one-ups both of us with a fifth time in 2003 (even though it was a school trip), but whatever. 🦈 

 

22 hours ago, Xiongmao said:

I'll see if I can visit Japan again some day. I think I'll have to abandon the plan to move out there as I have way to much stuff (i.e. dolls) and the exchange rate has been crushed lately. But the biggest problem would be deciding which doll to take with me, and who would go into storage.

Admittedly, that was the worst part about moving here. We brought very little with us because shipping was expensive, and what dolls we were able to bring were bought in either two boxes or our luggage. It was terrible. 😭