Before my first Blythe Meet (which happened to be the Early Bird Meet that happened in Portland the day before BlytheCon), I had never met another person who was interested in Blythe dolls and I had never seen anyone else’s dolls in person besides the ones that I own. And as lovely as my dolls are, none of them are Kenners or BLs or FBLs or customized (well, besides chip changes, gaze correcting and sleepy eyes).

I got to meet people that I had spent the last two years talking to online. I got to meet people from all over that all share one thing in common: love for a certain type of dolly with big eyes that change colour with a blink.

It did take me a moment to warm up to people, I wasn’t entire sure what to expect because I had never been to a Blythe Meet before. To me, a meet was all about meeting people. And their dolls. I wasn’t sure what people would end up discussing, I didn’ t know what to expect because all I ever saw in photos of people’s meets were of dolls and people holding onto dolls.

I got to see Kenners for the first time. I even got to hold a Kenner and hear that soft and quiet little pip that they make when their string is being pulled. I got to meet people who share a love for Blythe, which was a great experience because it was something I had never had the chance to do before.

Some tips that I do have for other people who don’t know what to expect but are going to attend a meet:

• Have water with you – getting to talk to people is fantastic, but it does make you feel thirsty after a while.
• Have food! If the meet is for more than a small handful of hours, it’d be a great idea to have food. The Early Bird Meet that happened in Portland went for about 2.5hrs and I was hungry at the end of it.
• Dress appropriately for the weather, especially if the meet goes into the evening. I was also cold (and I wasn’t the only one).
• Have spare camera batteries! I definitely needed to swap out my battery partway through the meet.
• Wear your name tag somewhere that is easily seen. Also, put both your first name and the screen name that people are most likely going to know you as.