There comes a moment in time, just every so often, that I feel the need (or rather, want) of a new doll. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a brand new in box doll. No, I’m not that picky, but sometimes I just want a new doll just because it’s been a while since my last one. Let’s keep in mind that I got Maple Reed (Devi Delacour) last year in the preorder from Junie Moon, so it has not been that long since my last new doll.

But as I go through the process of changing Lottie’s outfit, I can’t help but feel like I would like a new BL in my collection. I’m not even particularly picky (but I think Sunday Best, Aztec Arrival, or Rosie Red would be fantastic additions to the doll family). It’d just be nice to have a new doll in the family, and wouldn’t another BL just fit in wonderfully?

Then there’s also the fact that I have a custom doll in my dreams that I would love to make come true, and the fact that I’m supposed to be setting aside money for BlytheCon Brooklyn that makes me hesitate to pull the trigger on a new doll. After all, all the money spent on things like that (dolls) could be put towards things like seeing a show, or eating out, or just the trip in general (flights, accommodations). I’ve been doing my research and finding out very quickly that New York is a very expensive place to stay!

I actually felt the New Doll Itch last year at around this time too. In 2016, I added 3 dolls to my family: Lottie (Mondrian BL), Chickadee (Intensive Care Petite), and Maple Reed (Devi Delacour RBL+). It comes in cycles, I feel. Get a new or new-to-me doll and the want and desire for a new doll goes away for just a little bit… Until it wears off and then I just want a new doll again. Because of the (expensive) trip I have planned, I might even try to make it a goal to not buy any new dolls this year.

Just you watch though, I’m going to end up with a lot of dolly clothes and shoes incoming through the mail in lieu of buying new dolls!

Today is the first day of winter and it’s also the first day for the last little while that it hasn’t looked like winter outside of my window. Where I live in Canada, we got a fairly large amount of snowfall that translated to a lot of transit and commuting issues (surprise! The area that I live in does not cope well with snow!). But it has rained recently and it has warmed up, so a lot of the snow has melted and washed away.

I am not ready for the holidays yet though, despite it being the winter solstice. There are no trees up either where I live or where my parents live. The only lights up are the ones in my bedroom. I still have baking that I want to get done (which may not get done…) and there’s the fact that I’m only 99% sure that I’ve remembered everyone that I should be getting gifts for. But it’s the season for looking ahead to the new year. One of the things that I’d like to do in 2017 is: more interviews, more Everyday Collector profiles, and more giveaways! As BlytheLife gets closer and closer to 1000 likes on Facebook, I get more and more ideas of what to do to celebrate.

How are you celebrating the first day of winter (if you happen to live in the northern hemisphere)? As I’m working night shifts over the next few days, I’ll be celebrating with sleep and hot chocolate!

It honestly seemed like everyone was bouncing off the walls over the idea of the Anna Sui Blythe collaboration doll (if you haven’t seen the promotional illustration yet for this doll, click here!), who is due to come out in January 2017. While I’ve gotten more selective with the additions that I make to my Blythe collection, I had the feelings of grabby hands when I first saw the doll’s illustration (much like what I felt when I first saw Devi Delacour’s promotional illustration images).

So what does this mean if a doll if region exclusive?

The doll is only officially sold/shipped to retailers within that region. In the case of the Anna Sui doll, it was reported by Tuesday that the doll is a Japanese exclusive. The doll will only be officially sold to retailers in Japan. Anyone outside of Japan will have to either a) travel to Japan to buy the doll, or b) buy it secondhand at a marked up price.

With the doll being region exclusive, and likely quite limited as it is a designer collaboration, the doll is likely to be quite expensive after everything is taken into consideration (cost of doll, mark-up, shipping, potential for customs/duties). A doll that is tentatively priced at 29,300¥ (~$265USD) might end up being closer to $500USD by the end of the purchase due to the difficulty in getting it to other countries, the cost of (registered, tracked) shipping, and just price inflation based on popularity.

As a fan of stock dolls (nearly all of my dolls are stock or mostly stock), I can see why the Anna Sui collaboration doll will be popular – when I first saw the images, I send it to my family to go “This is what I want for Christmas”. Now that I know that the doll is region exclusive, it makes it a lot more difficult (and more expensive) to justify the purchase. Of course, there will be those in the community who will rise to the challenge to bring that doll to areas outside of Japan (and truthfully, I do hope people are successful because I want to see this doll in person!).

Keep in mind that CWC pays for and licenses the right to use the Blythe trademark from Hasbro (an American toy company) and they pay for the licensing rights for Japan and Korea only. Hasbro utilizes their Blythe trademark in North America with the Littlest Pet Shop mash-up.

What do you think about region exclusive releases? Share your thoughts below!

I can be pretty terrible about the holidays and keeping track of them for BlytheLife. Halloween is in just a few days and I honestly have zero new costume plans for my dolls. Why? Because my local Blythe group isn’t having a Halloween meet until the following weekend. Which means I have a whole extra 5 days to come up with an amazing costume idea, create it, and pop it on a doll.

What this really means that I’ll be showing off an unseasonably ghoulish or scary (scary-cute?) Halloween costume sometime after the local doll meet – because spoilers aren’t fun! That said, I’m really looking forward to Halloween! I actually work on Halloween this year, and there are some restrictions to what I can or cannot wear at work. This is pretty much due to fun things like “infection control” and maintaining some sense of decorum and professionalism. One of my coworkers will be scooping up a bunch of fun Halloween-themed headbands and just dropping them off at in the staff room for everyone to pick and choose from. There will be kitty ears, witches hats, and little devil horns. I’m going to opt for the kitty ears because meow.

In the past, I’ve come up with some delightfully fun Halloween outfits for my dolls. For instance, the first Halloween meet we did as a group, Belarus went as a squid. Because why not? I actually quite love this costume and still pull it out from time to time because I had such fun making it! And then one year, I brought all three of my Kenners in costume.

I have zero idea what I’m going to do for this year, but I still have a little over a week to flesh out an idea and execute it. Chances are I’ll be bringing my new Devi Delacour – and she’s already in a Halloween-appropriate outfit – so what I really need to do is just come up with another outfit for one of my other dolls. Hopefully I can think of something soon!

Bonus to having a post-Halloween Halloween meet is that it makes decorations and little fun knick knacks just that much more affordable! I had made the suggestion that everyone attending in my local doll group bring a little treat so everyone could go home with a loot bag – just as if we had gone trick-or-treating. I plan on getting a bunch of cute little things, along with mini chocolate bars and some other fun things – photos after because spoilers aren’t any fun.

Are you going to be attending a Halloween-themed doll meet? (Or have you already attended one?) And curious minds what to know: what fun costume ideas did you come up with this year?

You are all going to think that this is the world’s biggest First World Problem, mostly because I think it’s a FWP.

I picked up my Devi Delacour from the post office yesterday and she is still in her box, under the thick plastic covering. She is out of her shipper carton, but that is about it. And I’m sure you’re asking “But Michelle, you’ve been waiting very impatiently for her, why haven’t you ripped her out of her box yet?” and that is an excellent question. Unless you’re me and you have been somehow added to about two dozen Blythe-related Facebook groups. My news feed is littered with photos of dolls all the time.

Proper photos of my still-nameless Devi Delacour soon!
Bonus shot of Sailor Mars (last Funko Pop I wanted from the Sailor Moon collection!).

And with the arrival of Devi Delacour at many people’s doorsteps, this means that I’ve been seeing a lot of photos of people with their Devi Delacour and all the flaws that they have been finding. Now, I am no stranger to stock dolls that have issues. Eden Mouse (Punkaholic People) had a horribly uneven hair cut when she arrived – that I remedied with a pink mouse hat that is semi-permanently affixed to her head. But with Devi Delacour still under the thick plastic and safely inside of her box, I can believe that she is perfect until proven otherwise. For a few days, she’ll remain in her box, safely protecting the illusion that my first preorder Blythe doll is in immaculate condition and has zero flaws.

In part, this may seem like I am lying to myself (and I suppose that I am), but Devi Delacour is also supposed to be a birthday present to myself and it’s not even the right month yet… Which probably means that I should wait a little bit longer. At least until November hits and I can pull her out of the box!

However… If I pull her out in October, does that mean I need to buy myself another doll for my birthday in November?