Iplehouse: The End of an Era

    I'm grieving the end of my favourite doll company, Iplehouse, and words cannot express how sad I am to hear the news. They are taking their final orders now through January 3rd, 2027, before closing down.

    Iplehouse is a household name among BJD collectors. While I haven't been in this hobby for very long, I've gradually come to understand just how significant they were to the hobby through old forum threads, collectors' photo galleries, and all the traces of their presence that have accumulated over the years. Their heyday of cutting-edge innovation had already passed by the time I joined, yet the love their collectors have for their dolls remains palpable even today.

    I last wrote about my admiration for their artistry on two occasions: On Shelling the Corinthian, where I concluded my thoughts on doll preferences, and Inklings of More Character Dolls, where I discussed Iplehouse sculpts that are or were the strongest shell contenders for my OCs.

    I once promised to complete my work on Dream and the Corinthian before even considering more dolls, but now, with sadness and true FOMO on the horizon, I am breaking my no-buy rule to accelerate my doll plans. And with that, I must forego all plans of travel until further notice.

    So here is what I'm certain to purchase: the aforementioned Asa sculpt in Peach Gold resin, and Carina as an additional head to hybrid on BlackShip's Oil Painting body, a combination that is now confirmed to be plausible. This means my lovely ladies, Vivian Lau and Tasha Ramirez, will both be coming home to me!

Carina, my future Tasha.

    I replaced my earlier choice of Scarlet for Carina's sculpt because of her softer face shape and lips that can be turned into a smirk. It's important for me to capture Tasha's bold confidence. Growing up wrestling with three older brothers, she had a major influence on Cori's own brazen upbringing.

    Speaking of smirks and brazen personalities, I'm gonna go off on a slight tangent about a new SartoriaJ doll that comes with an incredible smirk. It perfectly matches the smoldering cocky bastard vibe I've always imagined the Corinthian to have. 

His smug face makes Dream question whether he should kiss the man or punch him.  

     But other than the smirk itself, I still prefer Iplehouse's Lawrence for my Corinthian. This SartoriaJ sculpt leans a little too heavily into the manhua style for my taste, which has been a point of contention for me with the company's more recent releases. That's why it's even more upsetting to me that Iplehouse is closing down, since I personally find their sculpts to be much more diverse. They are peerless among companies that make semi-realistic dolls.

    Yet somehow, the jury is still out on whether or not I should place my order for this doll, especially knowing that I can request this head to replace the default. I don't really want to buy a whole doll just for one head, but as far as bodies go, I wouldn't mind adding the proportionally balanced 70 cm David body to my collection (but why!).

     I should really be more considerate of my other OCs who are still without a shell, namely Tariq and Daniel. Currently, I'm leaning towards Iplehouse's SID Felix for Amara's younger brother Daniel. He would be 65 cm, making him taller than Amara at 60 cm but the same height as Cori. The height difference between brother and sister makes more sense to me genetically than trying to shell him into a 70 cm doll. Also, because Amara wears heels, I'd love to see the contrast between the reserved older sister and her loquacious younger brother.

    However, Daniel is not nearly as developed as my other characters, so I'd like to come back to his doll shell another time, after I've done more character exploration.

Felix is a possible shell for Daniel, a ginger with the same grey eyes as Amara.

    The one other important character I'd like to shell is Tariq, Amara's older adoptive brother. I'd prefer him to be 70 cm tall, with a kind, easygoing air about him. But I have yet to come across any Black sculpts that fit his character. 

    I'd love for SartoriaJ to bring back the Carob Brown resin and create the sculpt I've always wanted for Tariq. Chances seem low, but not impossible, I think. They're often very good at listening to suggestions and have indulged my requests on numerous occasions. Sometimes, I fear that if I ask for something too soon and they give it to me, my wallet won't be ready.

    So, for now, I must exercise some restraint. There is still time, so I won't rush my purchases just yet. I need to carefully spread out my layaway(s) and see whether or not Iplehouse will open head-only sales by popular demand. I need to also keep in mind that next month is Halloween, my favourite shopping month of the year.

    I suppose that's where I am with my doll plans at the moment: caught somewhere between mourning the end of an era and scrambling to bring home the characters I've always wanted. I never expected Iplehouse's closure to make me rethink my entire collection, but here we are.