What is it?
St. Louis is in the very center of the country. We’re the Gateway to the West! Home of the 1904 World’s Fair! And we’re hosting a BJD convention!
A fan convention is a place where people from various places and of various stripes can come together and enjoy their hobby with like-minded people. We geek out about dolls, learn new things, meet new people, and have lots of fun!
We, however, are so much more! We offer workshops to learn more about the care and design of your dolls - want to learn how to face-up your doll? Give it a manicure? Create your own doll? Perhaps you'd like to learn how to create and sew a outfit for your doll using a sewing machine? Or make a wig? These are all things that we've offered at the convention previously, and we're just getting started!
What's a BJD?
A Ball Jointed Doll. For our purposes, any strung doll with ball joints “counts” as a BJD. It could be manufactured in Japan, China, Korea, the USA, or Mars. It could be vinyl, resin, or porcelain.
Dolly Playmates?
Say say oh, playmate
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three…
The Dolly Playmates is the name of a St. Louis-based doll club. Members of the club collect many kinds of dolls including BJDS. Primarily, they are people of all ages who PLAY with their dolls. Dolly Playmates welcomes anyone who loves dolls and plays with them. Some members collect American Girl, or Barbie, or Monster High dolls. Some collect Tonner, Gene, or other Fashion dolls. Some collect vintage dolls or antique dolls. What all the members have in common is a desire to get together with playmates and play dolls!
Our committee and staff originally came from members of the Dolly Playmates group, but we're always interested in welcoming new people, too.
Is this the first year?
This will be our fifth year!
Any idea of attendance expected?
We don't know! Since we've drastically changed the pricing we don't know how our demographic will change. Most of the time we get around 50 people.
How long does the convention run?
We're doing a one day event this year, with the option to join us for a field trip on Sunday!
If I can't come, can I still help somehow?
We'd LOVE your help! Here's a couple of ideas:
Will there be WiFi at the convention site?
Although the site doesn't have internet access, we have been able to arrange WiFi at our convention previous years and expect to do so again this year.
What does Security look like at the convention?
We take the safety and security of our guests, staff, and their dolls very seriously. How else can you have fun? Harassment of any guests or staff is not tolerated, and will be dealt with fairly by members of the convention committee.
Many of our staff members have many years of experience as staff and committee members of large scale fan conventions. The vending room is staffed at all times, day and night, by our Vending staff. Con HQ is staffed during convention hours if you ever have questions or issues. The doors at our convention are automatically locked from the outside so no unauthorized personnel can enter. We also offer Dolly Babysitting, where you can keep your dolls and belongings you don't want to carry around with you at the convention safely set aside with a staff member.
St. Louis is in the very center of the country. We’re the Gateway to the West! Home of the 1904 World’s Fair! And we’re hosting a BJD convention!
A fan convention is a place where people from various places and of various stripes can come together and enjoy their hobby with like-minded people. We geek out about dolls, learn new things, meet new people, and have lots of fun!
We, however, are so much more! We offer workshops to learn more about the care and design of your dolls - want to learn how to face-up your doll? Give it a manicure? Create your own doll? Perhaps you'd like to learn how to create and sew a outfit for your doll using a sewing machine? Or make a wig? These are all things that we've offered at the convention previously, and we're just getting started!
What's a BJD?
A Ball Jointed Doll. For our purposes, any strung doll with ball joints “counts” as a BJD. It could be manufactured in Japan, China, Korea, the USA, or Mars. It could be vinyl, resin, or porcelain.
Dolly Playmates?
Say say oh, playmate
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three…
The Dolly Playmates is the name of a St. Louis-based doll club. Members of the club collect many kinds of dolls including BJDS. Primarily, they are people of all ages who PLAY with their dolls. Dolly Playmates welcomes anyone who loves dolls and plays with them. Some members collect American Girl, or Barbie, or Monster High dolls. Some collect Tonner, Gene, or other Fashion dolls. Some collect vintage dolls or antique dolls. What all the members have in common is a desire to get together with playmates and play dolls!
Our committee and staff originally came from members of the Dolly Playmates group, but we're always interested in welcoming new people, too.
Is this the first year?
This will be our fifth year!
Any idea of attendance expected?
We don't know! Since we've drastically changed the pricing we don't know how our demographic will change. Most of the time we get around 50 people.
How long does the convention run?
We're doing a one day event this year, with the option to join us for a field trip on Sunday!
If I can't come, can I still help somehow?
We'd LOVE your help! Here's a couple of ideas:
- We would love donations for our raffles, door prizes, and other goodies. Email Tricia for inquiries.
- Join us as a Supporting Member! You get special mention in our program book and other goodies. See our Supporting Member page for more information.
- See our Sponsorship page to place an ad in our program book.
- Help spread the word! Check out our links page to see where you can find us.
- If you can come to the convention and would like to volunteer, contact us at: [email protected]
Will there be WiFi at the convention site?
Although the site doesn't have internet access, we have been able to arrange WiFi at our convention previous years and expect to do so again this year.
What does Security look like at the convention?
We take the safety and security of our guests, staff, and their dolls very seriously. How else can you have fun? Harassment of any guests or staff is not tolerated, and will be dealt with fairly by members of the convention committee.
Many of our staff members have many years of experience as staff and committee members of large scale fan conventions. The vending room is staffed at all times, day and night, by our Vending staff. Con HQ is staffed during convention hours if you ever have questions or issues. The doors at our convention are automatically locked from the outside so no unauthorized personnel can enter. We also offer Dolly Babysitting, where you can keep your dolls and belongings you don't want to carry around with you at the convention safely set aside with a staff member.
