Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

I've been giving a lot of thought to the Blythe hobby lately.Thinking about how much it's changed and how I've changed along with it. I remember dolls being a lot cheaper then they are now.

My first doll wasn't even that expensive and I was so new to the hobby I didn't even know there was a difference. I didn't know that some dolls cost more because of their base. I knew nothing about what the base of a doll was or make or the year it was created. I just remember going on eBay and looking up Blythe dolls. I remember seeing some that were more expensive then others and just thinking it must just be because some people valued their dolls and wanted more money then others, lol. There were descriptions like this is a such and such and It meant nothing to me.
Mostly because I was so new to the hobby I didn't understand Anniversary, SBL or RBL differences, 
I just thought a Blythe was a Blythe. 

My first Blythe had an Emily in the addict theme. Man, I really loved that doll. I think I paid $150 for her and thought that was a lot of money at the time. Boy how times have changed. She was so cool, she came with a trunk full of goodies and a handmade knitted cat. I got her cause she kind of looked like me at the time. She had red hair and punk-ish eyelids and bright red lips.
                                                    

She was cool looking and wasn't too expensive. I didn't want to buy an expensive doll cause I only wanted to use it as a model for my artwork. I was really into drawing fairies at the time and wanted a doll that I could use to model my fairies after. I never thought in a million years I'd see myself  spending upwards of a few hundred on a Blythe. As time passed and I was seeing more and more people within the hobby spending bigger and bigger bucks on dolls like 8-9 hundred. I thought,

that would never be me. Till it was me last year when I bought my custom Dark Hole Rabbit I named Winne. Well, before Winnie, there was Stella by Melly Kay whom I no longer have. But it took me a little under two decades before I cracked my wallet and started really buying those expensive dolls I swore I would never buy. Now I find myself looking at $1500 and up dolls like the ones Erin Deir makes and Tiina 

I don't think I'll ever own one of those dolls because even though they are expensive they are hard as hell to get a hold of. They get adopted so fast. I never have a chance. Also I don't have that big a budget. Who knows maybe in another decade or two I will!

I did however get the chance over the holidays to buy a doll I'd wanted since forever. I was able to get my hands on Art Attack brand new with full stock and shipper which is incredibly rare.

I was going to have her customized but after keeping her for a month I decided to sell her off.Guess I really just wanted the base doll and could have cared less about the stock outfits. She does come with an amazing amount of stock gear and clothing but most of it looked cheap to me tho'. There were only a few things I really liked. If I see her being sold at a decent price I may grab her again. 

I'm just losing an interest more and more in this hobby. People who know of me must see how little I make Blythe stuff anymore. I definitely don't buy Blythe stuff like I use to either. Right now I'm only keeping a handful of dolls and if I do buy anymore it will only be authentic Blythe dolls, no fakes! Mostly because I have had too many issues with fake dolls. Eye mechanism not working correctly and such. I started realizing fake dolls were harder to customized due to having to many issues with them.  Also I'm all about the slightly older authentic gals now a days. I got a feel the sky last summer on eBay and she is just stunning now that she has been customized. I still have her box and most of her stock as well.  

I actually found myself looking a six line Kenner last night. Funny thing is I never really cared for Kenner's before. I know most people think they are the holy grail of the Blythe dolls. I don't know, they use to just look old and dirty to me. But something changed in me and I see them with more respect now. They have history. I started thinking to myself imagine if they could talk.
The stories they could tell. They really are like old souls but in doll form.