Bennett (Margaret Meets Ladybug EBL) with some Doll Coordinate Recipe books,
all purchased online via Mandarake.

The market is a lot different now in 2015 than it was in 2009 when I was first getting into Blythe and purchasing my first one in person in Richmond, BC. Nowadays, you run into the trouble of deciphering what a seller is trying to say when they may be using a translation program. There is advice I see floating around on Facebook that often directs new Blythe hobbyists to “TBLs” or “factory dolls” (which are all, let’s face it, fakes).

For those who are smitten with Blythe, it is always a good idea to know were to go to purchase legitimate Blythes that are produced by Takara. Here is a selection of online shops for you to puruse, I’ve made some comments regarding types of releases (new vs. old) as well as retail

• Junie Moon – Junie Moon’s international online shop ship world wide. They are also an official Blythe retailer, as they are very closely associated and affiliated with Cross World Connections (who designs the new Blythe releases). You can often find new releases here, all at retail price. When there are special releases (e.g. limited releases, or anniversary dolls), Junie Moon holds a “lottery”. If you win, you win the chance to purchase the doll. Junie Moon does not often carry dolls that would be considered to be very old releases.
• CC Toys – CC Toys is a brick and mortar shop located in Hong Kong that also happens to sells online. They boast having ‘free’ shipping with each item, but you will note that they include cost of shipping in with the purchase price. The nice thing about this is that there are no surprises! The price you see is what you pay. They will often do presales for new releases. Some older releases can also be found at CC Toys. The prices may be inflated from original retail costs, as the prices are fluid with the popularity. The more popular dolls are often priced accordingly.
• HobbyLink Japan – HLJ is an online shop that carries Blythe and other hobby goods from Japan. Like CC Toys, they often do presales for new releases. What I personally like about HLJ is that they will combine shipping. If you purchase some things now and can wait for it, you can wait until you’ve accumulated a fair number of items before having it shipped (up to a certain length of time). This may be helpful for some people. I have purchased a fair number of Japanese hobby books from HLJ and they have always been packaged well.
• Mandarake – Mandarake is a series of brick and mortar shops in Japan that will buy and sell items. They also carry Blythe. Mandarake is a great resource for older releases as well as used dolls. I have found that often the descriptions do not make sense (likely due to use of a translation program), but you can often find good deals through Mandarake if you are willing to search a bit and wait.
• Amazon – Surprise, surprise – the online retailer that carries just about everything also carries Blythe! The US site for Amazon does have some releases – albeit at fairly high prices. Amazon.co.jp also carries Blythe as well, but you may run into the trouble of needing to use a shipping service that will purchase as your proxy and then ship you your items after they receive it. This means that you will be paying for shipping twice (first domestically, second internationally).

I do hope that these links help you in finding your (first?) Blythe! If you’ve had good (or poor) shopping experiences at any of the above retailers – let me know in the comments below! If you have any shops to suggest, please link below.

A Beginner’s Guide is a feature on BlytheLife.com that is all about going back to the basics of collecting Blythe, and being a reference tool for new and experienced collectors alike. If you have any suggestions for what you would like to see in A Beginner’s Guide, send me your suggestions!

It’s fun to make things! Part of what the winner of the BlytheLife.com’s 5th birthday giveaway will be a doll sweater (or two, or three… It really depends on how many I wind up making). I like small knitting projects like Blythe sweaters because they’re easier to carry around. The socks (for me!) that I’m working on this month aren’t that great as a travelling knitting project because it’s stranded colourwork and at one point, I need to have 3 balls of yarn. They’re a bit better now because it’s just one colour. Blythe sweaters are a bit better in that I just need one ball of yarn (usually, unless I’m doing stripes like in the romper above) and then I just go and knit. The great thing about dolly knits is that due to the size, it doesn’t take nearly as long to complete a doll sweater as it does to complete a pair of socks that fit my feet.

What have you made recently for Blythe? (If you haven’t crafted recently, what have you bought for Blythe?)

Without fail, one of the things that I’m almost always forget to bring to a Blythe meet is a doll stand. I say almost always because I have remembered exactly twice in all the Blythe meets I’ve attended from 2011 to now. Twice. I don’t exactly have the best track record, but I own Blythe stands and, on occasion, consider them to be a good thing to use.

The number of stands I own is dwarfed by the number of dolls that  have. If we go by stock dolls only, , I technically have enough stands for my Neos and Middies. But then I also have 2 custom Blythes and 3 Kenners that do not have stands. Luckily, that’s why I also own some doll-sized furniture that I use for display purposes. I used to have Bennett, my Margaret Meets Ladybug, on a stand but she would continually try to push her sisters over because of her weight (she has a lot of hair).

Overall, I really like the clover stands. My personal favourite moment was when I bought a pink stand for Eden (I believe she came with a black one) to really drive home the fact that everything she touches is pink. The unfortunate thing about the stands is that they are not sturdy enough to hold up a girl with a lot of hair well (e.g. Margaret Meets Ladybug, or Monique Magnifique). They pull apart easily enough for storage if you’re going somewhere. Depending on the doll, I occasionally run into problems with not being able to put their arms down unless they’re also wearing boots or shoes that elevate their height just a smidgen.

For Middies, I don’t usually use their stands, but they’re a bit more user friendly because I haven’t had issues with them yet. This may also be due to the fact that that both of my Middies aren’t particularly top heavy.

Other stands that Blythe has come with include the Licca stand (clear plastic that clamps the legs in place, I can see them working well for Liccas because of the small head but not well for Blythe who has a giant noggin), the EBL stand (very heavy, very useful if you’re taking photos in a windy area, plus these were also clear in colour and did I mention heavy?), the white Kenner Blythe stand, and then there was the standing ovation stand. Fairly rare and the  standing ovation stands don’t come up for sale often, but they were designed to make photography easier because it would be easier to hide the stand due to it’s flexibility. Of the four additional stands mentioned, I own the EBL stand but I don’t use them. I tend to use stands for display purposes at home only (because I almost always forget to bring a stand!), and the clover stands take up less room overall, which is what makes the more attractive to me.

Do you use stands for your dolls? Which one is your favourite to use & why?

From today, it’s 31 days until BlytheCon Vancouver! When I really think about it, I should be hyperventilating more.

There’s a lot to do between now and then. Lots of things to do behind the scenes – like finalizing floor plans, figuring out where vendors will be sitting, stuffing goodie bags (the fun part!), making sure everyone knows what they’re doing, and still managing to have fun the day of the event!

It is not too late to get your tickets! Online ticket sales end on July 31st! There will be door prizes, a raffle, a couple of contests (deadline to enter is July 15th!), and a few demonstrations for those who signed up! I’m really excited about it coming up, even though I feel like there’s still a lot to do, because it means that the year-plus of work that we’ve put into this event is finally becoming evident and it’s not just a pipe dream! (Apologies if you’re getting tired of hearing about Vancouver if you’re not going to be going, I’m just so excited about it!)

If you’re coming and you see me when I’m in the ballroom (and not the registration table), be sure to mention BlytheLife! I’ll be at the registration table for the first part of the morning, but when I’m walking around I will have some goodies on me for BlytheLife readers.

I don’t sew very often because, let’s face it, my forte is not in sewing. Sewing in a straight line is my current sewing related goal. It may seem like small potatoes to some of you, but it’s a goal for me. As much as I’d love to claim that I meant to do that when my seams aren’t straight and the lines are crooked, nobody means to sew that poorly ever. Which is where I come in – sewing badly all the time. But I can sew, on occasion and intentionally.

After sewing a dress that was sized for Neos, I eyed the fabric I had left over and decided that I really wanted to make a dress for Middie as well. While I hemmed and hawed over the design, I remembered being charmed by the big-little outfits I made previously, so I just had to do it again. Nothing says I love Middies like dressing them like the (bigger) Blythes! Making twin outfits is definitely my wheelhouse. What do you think? I’m definitely thinking of making more dresses like the BlytheCon Vancouver ones. It helps me combine something I love and am fairly decent at (knitting) with something I’m not-so-good at (sewing) and they actually fit and look okay!

Middie Monday is a feature that is published on the first Monday of each month! A guaranteed monthly post on Blythe’s little sister – Middie! If you have any suggestions for a future Middie Monday post, please send me an email or use my Suggestions form!

Kitty Brighton’s wearing: top/chelleshocks (me!), capris/unknown.
Lydia Melbourne’s wearing: dress/chelleshocks (me!)
Moxie’s wearing: dress/chelleshocks (me!)
Primrose’s wearing: top/chelleshocks (me!), capris/Fruit Punch stock