Doll families are interesting in the way that they grow and evolve. Take my dolls for instance. I started off with one Blythe, just like everyone else does. I had Sophie, my stock Cappuccino Chat. She’s also the reason why I learned how to properly spell ‘cappuccino’.

It also didn’t take very long for that one to grow to three by the end of the year. I added Belarus (Love Mission) a month after Sophie was bought. Tertiary Jane (Simply Peppermint) came in November of 2009.

In under a year (June 28 2009 to March 26 2010), I had hit six Blythes. In those short 9 months, I had went from 0 to 6. And at six it stayed for over a year.

I had acquired Bennett (Margaret Meets Ladybug), Eden Mouse (Punkaholic People) and Kindred (Velvet Minuet). Before Kindred, every single one of my dolls had arrived in my hands as NRFB dolls. Kindred was purchased as a second-hand/used doll. She was also the first doll I had taken outside of my house (this may be a coincidence, but it probably isn’t).

My first six are always going to be special to me. All stock, all beautiful in their own way. Some are more demanding than others, some are more easy going. One only wears one colour… They have all their quirks, their personalities. And I love them all.

It wasn’t until October of 2011 that my doll family started to grow again. I added a Kenner to the family. When Emmalynn (my redheaded Kenner love) arrived, I was convinced that she would be the last Blythe I ever bought. She was the one I stressed over on eBay for, the one I bid on, the one I crossed my fingers and obsessively refreshed the tracking information for.

And then came Moxie and Mollie, the Simply duo that’s part of a trio. I didn’t count them though, because technically I didn’t buy them.

It took me less than two months after Christmas to add two new-to-me Kenners to the family. Cue Primrose and Lillian (who only back in July got a name!). Between October 2011 and February 2012, I added 5 Blythes to the family. When it rains, it pours in terms of plastic dolls.

And then in July 2012, I got my very first custom dolly, which I had posted about! Halo, a lovely RBL custom by Friends with Blythe.

Now that I’m at an even dozen, I’m pretty confident I’ll stay there for the time being.

3 Kenners, 2 EBLs, 1 SBL, 4 RBLs, 2 FBLs.

What does your family look like?

This is part one of my “Thoughts on…” mini series.

What’s the first thing you think of when you think of Kenners? What words come to mind?

1972. Blythe. Vintage. The Original. Chunky, wispy, side part. ‘Brown’ and ‘purple’ eyechips. Yellowing. Frizz. Broken knees. Chewed fingers, toes. Cracks. Loved her legs off.

I used to think that Kenners were somewhat grubby and overpriced. And then I actually held a Kenner in my hands and heard that soft, delicate pip and I was totally over the moon about them. After BlytheCon 2011, it took all of 2 months (or so) for me to end up winning an auction over on eBay and a week after that for her to arrive at my house. I will admit though, Kenners aren’t for everyone. Everyone’s collections are different and that’s a beautiful thing.

For some, cracks are a deal breaker. For others, it’s yellowing. As for me – missing legs are no big deal. Neither is a cracked pelvis or somewhat frizzy hair. Or very frizzy hair, as the case may be.

It’s the magic in their eyes.

Some people have small families, others large. Some have only Kenners, some have a mixture of everything. Some have all stock dolls while some have all extreme customs – teeth, wink eyes, permanent scars across the eyes. It’s okay to have something different. I didn’t understand Kenners when I first got into Blythe. Sure, they’re neat and all, but why would I buy a Kenner when I could spend a fifth of what one costs on a new doll?

And then I realized something new. I mean, I could have five whole Takaras (or more) for the price of a Kenner. But there’s something about them. The coy eyes, the frizz of their hair. The way that their bodies come slightly broken or asymmetrical. One arm sticks out more than the other. They’re classic, but different from stock Takara Blythes. Classic.

Still, Kenners are not for everyone. Some people want new-looking dolls. Some people can’t stand hair frizz, cracks in the body, wonky eyelashes or clouded chips. Some people want mint and others don’t. And some people, like myself, have a mixture in the family. I have one Kenner with super frizzy hair and another with hair that feels like silk. And that’s okay, because everyone’s dolls are different, everyone has different tastes.

I do have a lovely trio that might convince you that you should have a Kenner… That and they’re always convincing me that I need more of their vintage sisters in my life.

For those that don’t know, from left to right is Emmalynn, Primrose and Lillian.

Prior to Saturday, I was all about Flickr.

For sharing photos, Flickr remains a major site for Blythe fans to take part in to upload photos, see photos of other Blythes and to engage into doll-related groups and photo challenges. Despite the fact that some doll fans have had issues with Flickr cracking down on their rules (and, to be fair, it’s always been a part of the rules to not sell [so obviously] on Flickr!), the photo sharing site remains big.

And then Saturday happened. I got my very first smartphone and (!) then came Instagram.

I do understand that Instagram is not a replacement for Flickr and it doesn’t all the great features that come with having groups; it’s still pretty nifty. One of the features of Instagram that I quite like is the filters. It’s a nice, easy, painless and relatively quick way to edit your photos on the go. Plus it can be linked to other social media sites like Flickr, Twitter and Facebook to make photo sharing easier. And while I’ve enjoyed Instagram, especially on Sunday when photos from BlytheCon were being uploaded from people with smartphones available, it’s still not a replacement for Flickr (or Photoshop); but it’s a very neat alternative!

Flickr still remains by and large my favourite photo sharing website, because it’s a lot more than just a site where you go and put up photos and look at photos uploaded by others. It does have a real community feeling to it and I feel that’s one of the reasons why a lot of Blythe hobbyists do have Flickr accounts and are willing to pay for a Pro account.

What’s your favourite photo sharing site? Is it Flickr? What makes it your go-to site?

One of my friends from school had always been interested in Blythe. She first saw a doll because of me (my wallet has Blythe on it!) and then she’d ask questions about what I was knitting (usually cardigans, sometimes dresses). And then I eventually brought a doll onto campus to show her and she was taken in by the click on the eye mechanism and the pull string and the pretty eye chips (I cheated and I’d brought my Simply Peppermint, Tertiary Jane, who has had some chip changes!). She was particularly interested in the little tiny, tiny shoes and thought that they were so adorable.

My friend then went on vacation in Asia, happened across a store full of Blythes and she bought one with her spending money. At the same store, she also bought a bunch of doll shoes and clothes for her new-found love. Of course, now that she’s back in Canada, she’s all very woeful woecakes about how much money she had spent on a doll and a wardrobe and shoes for said doll. I’m trying my best to convince her to go onto Flickr and Blythe related forums and to even attend a local meet! So far, no such luck.

Her big complaint right now is “Why didn’t you tell me how expensive this hobby was?!” which leads to crickets on the telephone while I’m talking to her because I did tell her how expensive the hobby was. I mentioned the costs of shoes, the dolls themselves, the vintage Kenners that are worth a pretty penny. I never once told her that it was a cheap hobby. And yet, she’s being all woeful over this. So I offered to buy the doll (and the things that she had bought) from her, so she could recoup some of the money. No such luck, she’s officially been converted… Even if she is still in a bit of a sticker shock over the costs of the hobby and how much she dropped on a dolly (and cute shoes!).

Have you ever successfully converted someone into the Blythe hobby?

My latest addition (and first custom!) arrived recently and I hadn’t introduced her yet here. According to her previous owner (kittenvomit), the base is a Saffy Encore RBL and the face-up was done by Friends with Blythe. Her hair is a white mohair (with pink streaks down in Manic Panic) reroot done by Maya (kittenvomit).