Taking a break from the hobby?

thirstyangel · 09-10-2007, 05:11 PM

Have you ever taken a break from the hobby? Was the reason directly related to the hobby or something else entirely? Or have you never taken a break because it's unthinkable, why would a break be necessary, you love BJDs way too much to put them down?

I take small breaks from the hobby because I find them refreshing. I often go for 3-4 weeks without playing with the boys or photographing them but when I come back, I always feel like I love them even more.

miss sha · 09-10-2007, 05:13 PM

I once took about a five-month long break, from late January to July. It was intended to be a permanent leave -- I sold all my dolls and clothes, closed out my journal and stopped posting to the forums. Unfortunately, the pull was too great and I kept thinking about dolls, so I ended up joining back up in July, and here I am now, a year later, with no intention of leaving again. XD

Bel · 09-10-2007, 05:17 PM

I haven't taken a break yet, but one of the things that I love about this hobby is that you CAN. I have a lot of pets, a day job, a relationship, am learning to play cello, need to work out, etc - all of those things need to be constantly sustained. I can't take a break from any of them without starving the animals, getting fired & dumped, backsliding on my cello progress, you know? But I can ignore the dolls completely for a year if I want, and when I'm ready to come back, they'll be there, exactly as I left them. I love that.

**Annika** · 09-10-2007, 05:25 PM

I've never taken a complete break, but I have stepped back for the odd month or two here and there, when I was too busy or when another hobby caught my attention for a little while. I completely agree with Bel, one of the awesome things about this hobby is that you can step back at any time, to exactly the extent you need to, and when you're ready to dive back in it'll be waiting for you. ^^

**Rhian** · 09-10-2007, 05:48 PM

You mention that you take 3-4 week breaks, thirstyangel - I suppose that I do that too, but I wouldn't call them breaks, exactly.

I have so many interests that I can't keep them all at the forefront all the time, so they tend to cycle round in terms of how much they're consuming my life. I've never deliberately taken a break, but I have let my hobby-related activities diminish for a time in lieu of something else that requires my attention.

Knowing that I can do that and not lose out has really made me want to stay with this hobby for the long-haul. I find higher-maintenance interests are a bit too much pressure, but it really doesn't matter if I leave my dolls sitting half-naked for a few weeks! So in that sense, a real break would be unthinkable, because I've never ceased to enjoy it in all the time I've been a part of it.

Nikittin · 09-10-2007, 06:03 PM

I haven't been in the hobby as long as some, but it's been almost three years and I've yet to take a serious break from the online BJD haunts or my own dolls. I may not play with/photograph my dolls every day, but I consider BJDs my #1 hobby/interest. This may not always be true of course, but I'm having a lot of consistent fun with it so far ^^

honeyedbiscuit · 09-10-2007, 06:12 PM

I've never taken an official break, but there have been moments when I felt incredibly overwhelmed in the doll world. As stupid as this may sound, there have been times where I just felt discouraged, whether it's the result of a mental block, drama, or frustration. I've withdrawn a few times, and I guess by reading my LJ, some people would've never known that I was in this hobby. I guess I can say that I feel guilty as I don't take nearly enough pictures, etc.

However, I don't see myself ever fully leaving. There may be weeks where I don't pick up my dolls, but I couldn't bring myself selling them and not having them; plus, I enjoy reading the doll forums, seeing what others do with their dolls and such. I like holding my dolls when I'm in the mood to play with them, having them sit close by, or dressing them up in new clothes.

I guess you could say that I'm a really boring doll owner. xD

Merry · 09-10-2007, 06:47 PM

I've recently taken a long break from the larger online aspect of the hobby simply because there were no forums to which I felt any connection. I kept in touch with a few friends via LJ but mostly distracted myself with craft-sewing and WoW.

I've never really taken a break from dolls as far as packing them all up. They are always around though I have quite a few less than I did in my 'heyday'. I'll go for weeks without posing them differently but I still like to look at them (and eventually I feel guilty enough to change their poses, at least).

Now, with this new, smaller and community-focused forum I'm really jumping back into online dollyness.

Sola · 09-10-2007, 06:47 PM

I do take short breaks from the whole hobby when the frustration of getting thigns exactly as i want them starts to build, (such as recently - all my two of my boys are in pieces

) or when there's simply too much to absorb, but never seem to stay away too long.

The exciting - and sometimes crazymaking - effect that BJDs have had on my hobby!life is that they've lit a fire under everything else i like to do. Bookbinding? Check! Sewing? OMGcheck! Knitting? Check! Exploring mechanics? [brain explodes.] There are so many ideas and projects on the go at any given time that dolls -have- to be put aside at least once in a while, or else nothing else is going to get done.

**Rhian** · 09-10-2007, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sola

The exciting - and sometimes crazymaking - effect that BJDs have had on my hobby!life is that they've lit a fire under everything else i like to do. Bookbinding? Check! Sewing? OMGcheck! Knitting? Check! Exploring mechanics? [brain explodes.] There are so many ideas and projects on the go at any given time that dolls -have- to be put aside at least once in a while, or else nothing else is going to get done.

This is exactly how I am! I enjoy knitting and sewing in a more casual sense but when it comes to dolls I get quite frantic about it.

In fact, I have to really make myself stop doing my doll-sewing so I have time to do my me-sewing...

kuro · 09-10-2007, 08:05 PM

I definitely take breaks from certain aspects of the hobby. Currently, I'm taking a break from saving for a new doll and instead putting the money towards spoiling my current dolls. (Funny story, my friend once told me that he had this plan to collect all of his dolls first and worry about clothing later, but one day he realized he had ten naked dolls just sitting in his room being naked so he started to buy/make them clothes, haha.) I'm taking a break from the Toronto forum as well. It's mostly a lot of spam talk there, which, although fun, is something I can cut out now that school's starting and my free time is limited. I don't know if I'll ever go on a full break from this hobby, but even if I do, it's nice to see that others have done so and come back

nofunangie · 09-10-2007, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhian

You mention that you take 3-4 week breaks, thirstyangel - I suppose that I do that too, but I wouldn't call them breaks, exactly.

I have so many interests that I can't keep them all at the forefront all the time, so they tend to cycle round in terms of how much they're consuming my life. I've never deliberately taken a break, but I have let my hobby-related activities diminish for a time in lieu of something else that requires my attention.

I'm like this too. I have a ton of hobbies and can't devote too much time to each one without ignoring the others for awhile.

Lady Brick · 09-10-2007, 09:01 PM

I'm another person with too many hobbies and not enough time. As BJDs are currently my most expensive interest, I find that I do have to put them aside every now and then to keep myself from spending or wanting to spend more money than I can spare. Plus, certain aspects of the hobby can be frustrating (purchasing a doll and find that it's not what you wanted when it arrives, having trouble nailing down a doll's look, trying to take photos in an apartment with minimal light, etc) so sometimes it's better to take a step back and not get upset over something that's supposed to be fun.

radiotrash · 09-10-2007, 10:09 PM

I'm kinda like that small break person, I may not play with/photograph my dolls for a few weeks but sadly I visit doll sites almost daily. ^^; I'm trying to cut back though because for two years I let dolls take over all my other hobbies, including art which is also my profession. Because of this I don't have a very good portfolio to try to get a job now. Oops. ^_^;

astrosnik · 09-10-2007, 11:04 PM

I took almost a two-year break from BJDs for various reasons, including drastic changes in my finances, personal life and the doll communities. After about 4 or 5 years of heavy-duty involvement in custom dollfie and then BJD, I found myself frustrated with a current trend of buying and one-up-manship, and I think some of us felt shuffled off to the side if we didn't have new dolls and accessories to constantly be sharing. After the break I went back to some of my old favourite sites and reminded myself that my involvement really grew after I connected with individual dolls (like Jujube's and Razkil), and that developing my dolls as art/characters and finding ways to show that was more important than developing my reputation.

I still have to remind myself that it's not a contest for ownership or community participation, and that I can enjoy my dolls myself and be happy.

It absolutely helped to find people near me interested in dolls, (like my BF hoho) so there's someone to share the excitement and fun without making it a challenge. I find I have the opportunity to share who I am without so much show-and-tell.

Crescent · 09-10-2007, 11:51 PM

I have yet to take a break from the Bjd Hobby, I sometimes go without playing with them for a week, but its becuase I'm doing other things or just sit at the computer to long.

Brightfires · 09-10-2007, 11:59 PM

I'm trying to pull away. I've been trying for a year.

I'm just not very good at following through.

Fyredancer · 09-11-2007, 12:27 AM

Same as Merry - I've taken a break from participating online in the doll hobby, but I always have my boys around me. They're like a reward to come home to after a hard day's work.

Sometimes I get frustrated with the limits of my own abilities when photographing them, so I take a break from that too. But I never pack the dolls away.

demitasse · 09-11-2007, 01:03 AM

I take pretty regular breaks, usually during mid-terms and finals.

Aside from my prescribed 'must study now!' breaks, though, I like to at least catch up on the latest news.

But if break means not being active online, I guess I'm on perma-break? I'm not super active online, period, though.

milkypink · 09-11-2007, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhian

You mention that you take 3-4 week breaks, thirstyangel - I suppose that I do that too, but I wouldn't call them breaks, exactly.

I have so many interests that I can't keep them all at the forefront all the time, so they tend to cycle round in terms of how much they're consuming my life. I've never deliberately taken a break, but I have let my hobby-related activities diminish for a time in lieu of something else that requires my attention.

That's pretty much what happens with me. I'll be really involved with my dolls for a while and then the excitement will drop off and I'll go back to doing something else (video games, for example). Sometimes up to a couple of months go by, I pull them out again and fall in love all over again!