June 23, 2018 marked the 11th annual Pullip and Dal Doll Lovers Event, aka PUDDLE. My mother, Barbee0913 on YouTube, and I have gone for the past five years. In those five years, we’ve seen PUDDLE grow tremendously. For PUDDLE 2018, the showrunners made a few changes to the day. Instead of all the activities being held in one room, there was an added room where they held two programs, as well as the custom doll contest. The addition of the extra room saved up space in the main room, which was nice.
During the first half of the day, there was a break out session where you could get tips on sewing. The second half had a breakout where you could learn more about making doll music videos. While I’ve suggested in past video recaps that panels would be a nice thing to consider, I ended up missing the first panel, because I plum forgot about it. It was very early in the day and I was busy shopping. The second session wasn’t something I was interested in, as I am familiar with video making. I don’t think the panels were as popular as they could have been with attendees, but it’s a step in the right direction.
The attendee tables were decorated in very creative and unique ways. Each table had been decorated by a volunteer table host who also provided some cute table gifts. The table gifts at the table we chose were crocheted jellyfish hats! They were hand-made by our table host!
As far as dolls on display, there were a lot! One of the nice things about PUDDLE is that people will bring a handful of dolls with them to display by their seats. The dolls don’t have to be Pullips. They can be whatever you’d like to show off. This year, I saw a lot of Kiki Pops, a doll on my wish list. Seeing them in person made me want one even more!
This year, there were lots of viewers/readers at PUDDLE who stopped us to say hello. It was so much fun chatting with you all. We hope to see you next year!
One of the most exciting parts of the day was when they announced the winners of the custom contests! My mother made a mini custom themed around the Coast Guard, since PUDDLE’s theme was “Spell of the Sea”. Her custom placed first! It was all very exciting.
The vendor tables were again a highlight of the day! There were so many fantastic sellers at the show. So, I know what you’re thinking– where’s the loot?! Well, here ya go! Both my mom and I left with only a few items. They all came from the same booths, too, as it so happened! I picked up a fantastically made pink jean jacket for one of my Skipper dolls from Mota de Algodon. My mom left with a cute Little Prince inspired dress from her booth, as well. Mota makes high quality clothing and comes highly recommended from us if you’re looking for well made doll clothing!
Craftineered was back and this year, she was a vendor! We both bought some cute hair clip hats for our dolls. Mom bought a light up unicorn horn and I bought cute deer ears (not pictured).
Doll Angel, the customizer who made my Divergent custom, had a table this year again, too. I bought a bunny hat for my Blythe doll. The hat’s too cute on her!
A new vendor this year was Nightengale Needles. She’s a seamstress who makes a variety of different things. My mom picked up two doll sized hats that were then sized to her dolls heads. The hats are very cool looking! I am definitely going to reach out to her if I need any custom outfits for my dolls OR myself!
More photos can be seen here. Overall, 2018’s PUDDLE was a lot of fun. Next years theme is steampunk, which I already have so many ideas for! I’ve inquired about getting some custom outfit pieces for my custom contest entry already, in fact! Fingers crossed the ideas come together!!! Let us know what you think of the cute things we picked up at the show or if you’ve attended a fan gathering or convention recently in the comment area!