Blythe 104 is part 4 of a 5 part series directed towards people who are new to Blythe. In part 4, an introduction is made to the idea of meets and conventions.

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If you’re new to Blythe, you may have heard of something called a ‘Blythe Meet’ (or ‘Blythe Meat’, if you happen to be in the Portland, OR area) or a ‘BlytheCon’ or even ‘Blythe Fest’, depending on where you are. Meets are like the smaller version of conventions, but they’re both great fun.

Meets are gatherings of like-minded dolly people. Most people who attend meets are local to the area, but some travel to get to meets if they don’t have Blythe friends nearby. Blythe is a great hobby in that there are a lot of people everywhere who happen to collect Blythe, even though the dolls aren’t mainstream. Meets are generally small in number (less than 20, I’d say, on average) and what happens is that people arrange a meet up, bring dollies and then they all eat, drink and be merry. It’s essentially a gathering of friends who all happen to share at least one thing in common: love for Blythe.

You can have a meet with as many or as little people as you’d like. If you’re unsure if there’s anyone in your area, you can always post on one of the forums (as mentioned in Blythe 103: A Guide to Forums) if there is anyone in your area who happens to collect Blythe. Always be mindful that the internet is an open, public place. Just as you wouldn’t announce your home address in the middle of a busy subway car, you wouldn’t announce your address on the internet. I’d recommend using the closest major metropolitan centre (if possible) or just giving a generalized location.

Conventions are fun. They’re usually consisting of over a hundred people (and the number keeps going up!). It’s pretty much an all-day event in which people from all over travel for a convention. There’s usually vendors, contests and raffle prizes. Conventions would also cost more money than a local meet – especially once you factor in transportation costs and somewhere to spend the night. Fortunately, conventions are generally announced well in advanced so that you can have plenty of time to organize and to save for the trip. Conventions can be overwhelming, especially if it’s also your first meet, so just remember to breathe and have fun!

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Want to learn more?

• Blythe 101: A Guide for Newbies
• Blythe 102: Commonly Used Abbreviations and Words
• Blythe 103: A Guide to Forums
• Blythe 104: Meets and Conventions – You’re reading this!