When I attended the meet up in Minnesota earlier this month, it came to my attention that the Chicago group has a reputation for being “Anti-DD” and “Anti-Vinyl”. This makes me so sad..

While there may not be a large collector-base in the Chicago area of vinyl BJD, there is definitely an appreciation for them. Or rather, I’m not aware of a large collector-base in the Chicago area for vinyl BJD, but apparently that could just be because they feel like they are not welcome…?

That just makes me so sad!

Personally? I love the look of DD! And my first girl was a vinyl Obitsu 60cm Gretel, so I also have affection for the Obitsus. Unfortunately, what I don’t love about them is how easily they stain, which leads to my extreme dislike for how difficult they are to clean.

Those 2 things, though, don’t mean I don’t like them. It just means I’m not crazy about owning them! I love looking at others’ collections, and love oogling the pretties! I really wish I could be happy owning vinyl dolls.. especially since I think they are so adorable!

I mean, seriously, how adorable was Lily??

This was the 2nd version of my Obitsu Gretel, Lily. She was painted by an amazing artist who no longer does face-up commissions. She is one that I do miss… she was adorable!

The first version of Lily had my very first face-up ever! She was the doll that got me into customizing. And she was the one who taught me just how quickly vinyl can stain…

There’s a reason she had a purple “mask”… 😉 When I first attempted her faceup, I used chalk pastels as directed. However, I did not understand the need for proper sealant. Unfortunately, this left very large, extremely uneven eyebrows stained on her forehead. So I did the next best thing – I covered it up with purple paint.. Clever, right? That actually became fairly ingrained in her character. Totally by accident, but still loved her!

At one point, Lily also had the Obitsu 60cm body. This body almost instantly had staining. I was so used to cleaning resin, that I just could not fathom why in the world it was so hard to remove stains from vinyl. Once I read up more about vinyl and proper care, I realized I would either a) need to just be OK with stains, b) figure out how to do the oxy-clean & sunlight cleaning method, and/or c) stick with resins.

I have chosen to stick with resin dolls for the time being. That’s not to say it will be forever… But for right now it’s just one more way I can (attempt to) control the size of my collection.

All of that being said, it seriously makes me so sad that there are folks out there who do not feel comfortable sharing their dolls with the Chicago community. I have always known the entire group to be extremely accepting and friendly towards all collectors, and I really hope the vinyl BJD collectors give them another chance.

So if you are a vinyl BJD collector in the Chicago area – please come to meets! We love all the dollies and want everyone to feel welcome!