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The Facebook debacle & other issues

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cfx
23 minutes ago, mizya said:

I think that I've heard the rumour about TTYA manufacturing his early jeans and in the photos that you posted, @cfx, those shorts do look pretty much identical. The TTYA ones seem to have red lining at the pockets and the waist? while SMD ones have white lining. I do find it interesting how he makes such a big deal about everything being manufactured in Japan...

Yes the TTYA have red lining in the waistband. The pattern on the pockets is different on some as well; I'm sure if they did make them for him they made whatever changes were requested.

It's interesting to note that the pages for those items do not mention anything about being manufactured in Japan, and given how that normally is made a big deal out of I think that's a pretty good clue that these items were not made there. Of course, that sort of thing is true with any company, tout whatever it is you're trying to market on and don't mention the other. Food may have a big ORGANIC! tag on it but you'll probably never see one that says NON-ORGANIC! FULL OF GMOs!

I guess this is getting off the main topic but since we're in this rabbit hole I'm going to continue a bit.

Page on the classic jeans: https://shop.smartdoll.jp/collections/no-plans-to-restock/products/mirai-jeans?variant=15044685190

Look at the back pocket design; that's what I call the Calvin Klein design. I have no idea what CK jeans look like now but when they were first made 40-something years ago, that's the stitching pattern they used.

Here's the denim miniskirt: https://shop.smartdoll.jp/collections/no-plans-to-restock/products/jeans-skirt?variant=36249293062

Plain pockets on that. I have a TTYA denim miniskirt; it has the same Calvin Klein design on its pockets like the Smartdoll jeans. Mine is a different kind of more bleached denim, but it has worn places just like the Smartdoll one and is otherwise just as similar as the shorts are. I don't have a picture of mine but I'll see if I can add one later.

There's also other coincidences like the TTYA tags are very much like the Mirai tags, and they're sewn in the same places.

Here's the current TTYA miniskirt, but they look to have changed the pattern as this one looks different than mine, the pockets look smaller and are placed differently: https://www.etsy.com/listing/105140480/sd13-girl-real-vintage-denim-washing?ref=shop_home_active_76&crt=1

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Nyx Whitestar

WTF. The more I learn about him, the more I wanna fly away, faaaar away from him and his brand. Everyday there's a new story with evidences and proofs. He surpasses himself each day 🙄 I will not repeat what everybody else has already said as I totally agree but I'll share my feelings... I had such high expectations for robotic Mirai back then... Today, well, I don't even want a Smart Doll anymore. I just can't support him anymore. I was already a bit upset by him always changing his plans. I've been waiting for 2B (he teased her) - advice: don't hype yourself too much about him visiting DC Comics - and Spike (defenitely dead?), I wanted Haruka with pink hair (I hated Danny's responses about this, like seriously??)... Public shaming customers was already too much for me (that's when I decided to let go of the idea of having a Smart Doll) but with these massive bans I think he really went too far. And now this whole outfits story... I've bought shorts from Smart Doll shop last year during my trip in Japan, the price was really high but justified by Danny and his "better quality and ethics as they are made in Japan". Today I discover that I could have bought the SAME shorts from TTYA at a lower price. I just feel he abused my trust! 😤 

Edited by Nyx Whitestar
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Singer Yuna

I agree with TTYA producing clothing. I've heard wigs were from Korean manufacturer Crobidolls. The cream color is very Mirai.

About the debacle, I really hope it gets solved as civic people and not using childish behavior not appropriate for a CEO. I'm really sorry for Billy and I hope he gets his email replied because the whole rampage is so unfair. 


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Yumeiro

 

17 hours ago, Singer Yuna said:

I've heard wigs were from Korean manufacturer Crobidolls.

And Cotindoll perhaps?
But I must say, it is not really fair to argue about crediting other people/companies, in the past. Who knows what "contracts" where signed.

Edited by Yumeiro

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Mizuumi-no-Otome

I think it's really hard to say who manufactures/designed the SmD wigs, tbh. All of the hair likely comes from the same source, which is why you'll notice that most companies have some shade overlap, and most (if not all) of the unique shades are blends of those 'standard' colors, so you'd have better luck judging by the individual wig construction.  

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cfx

Indeed; I don't think wig color is any indication of a connection. Look at this picture from Cotindoll's shop:

 
We don't see that in the wigs they sell online, but that looks like every color under the rainbow, and I'm sure that is available to other wig makers as well.

I believe Cotindoll is the official Smartdoll distributor in Korea, but I don't know how far back that collaboration goes.

I've often wondered if wigs even from the various brands we know are made by someone else, and perhaps a smaller number of contractor companies. Companies like Crobi and Little Monica appear to me to really exist as resin BJD companies that also sell wigs on the side because why not since they need them for those dolls. Cotindoll is a shop who may or may not make things of their own, etc.

Edited by cfx
inline thing didn't work, changed to link

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DaemonNoyz

So what do you all think about this? Danny posted this earlier today:

Quote

Picking up some Taro milk tea in Torrance. Torrance has become the number one candidate for our first US office/store/production studio. Very convenient around here. Anyway, will let you know when it’s time to hire for the Smart Doll Legion and what positions will be available. #smartdoll

Awfully close to Volks USA...

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Eiko82

Hmm, I did not know this about TTYA and Smart Doll pants. It could be that Danny made some kind of agreement with them to use their pattern, which was never made public. I know that he has made deals with other designers (Squishdellia and Maruko Halu) to use their patterns to create items. 

 

I'm not at all surprised that Danny is planning to set up shop in the USA. About a year or so ago, he posted a pie chart of the countries with most of his customers and the USA had like 40%. They're his biggest market. So it makes sense for him to open a shop there. Wouldn't the location allow allow him to easily communicate with Hollywood studios for collaborations?


Living at my place: Rise (DD Rise Kujikawa), Chie (Smart Doll Mirai) and Aisha (Smart Doll Kurenai)

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BeyondTime

If he sets up shop in the US I think he will find there is little tolerance for his social media antics here. 

Edited by BeyondTime
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The difference between Dollfie Dreams and Heroin? Heroin is illegal, Dollfie Dreams probably should be.

“Empty wallets, full hearts.” That’s probably an apt description for the effects of DD addiction

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magique

Torrance is honestly such a random place that I'm sure it's supposed to be a snub toward Volks. I never knew why they set up shop there either. 

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growcian

Full disclosure: I currently live about 35 miles (~56 km) from Torrance. While I never lived in Torrance, I often had reasons to go there.

Various (Japanese) corporations set up shop in Torrance, with the biggest one likely being Toyota. (Toyota subsequently closed its corporate offices in Torrance but that was long after the company already made its impact on the city.) Toyota set up shop in Torrance in 1967.

Over the decades, Toyota slowly influenced other Japanese speaking people and businesses to move to Torrance. By the late 80s/early 90s, the influence of the Japanese speaking population became obvious in some parts of the city.

With money from major Japanese speaking entities flowing into the Torrance area, other Japanese speakers and their businesses followed. The obvious things are food related, such as supermarkets and restaurants. The less obvious things are service related, such as legal, accounting, and travel. A Japanese person with some reason to be in America but can't speak English well will tend to gravitate to a city where people who speak Japanese already set up shop. While there was a "Little Tokyo" already in the downtown area of Los Angeles, real estate is far more expensive there than in Torrance. If you're a Japanese speaker and want to set up shop around other Japanese speakers or looking for a place to live, Los Angeles made little to no financial sense. Torrance offered advantages other cities didn't for a lot of Japanese speakers thanks to companies like Toyota having taken the early plunge.

I realize most of what I said above is conjecture. However, having that much information should make why Volks set up shop in Torrance make a lot of sense. I have no way of knowing or proving Volks set up shop in Torrance because the Japanese speakers who were managing setting up the business in America wanted to be near restaurants they could eat at and professional services (with Japanese speaking employees) already established in the city. However, I'm probably not that far off.

While my conjecture explains why Volks set up shop in Torrance, it doesn't explain why DC would.

I... don't have enough information. While I can establish a plausible conjecture for Volks, I don't have enough info to even come up with a guess as to why DC would choose Torrance. As much as DC can have a social media meltdown, I'm of the belief there's a strong business reason for DC to choose Torrance over other nearby cities with less expensive real estate. I just don't have enough info to establish a hypothesis.

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Panda_Dolliess
4 minutes ago, growcian said:

I... don't have enough information. While I can establish a plausible conjecture for Volks, I don't have enough info to even come up with a guess as to why DC would choose Torrance. As much as DC can have a social media meltdown, I'm of the belief there's a strong business reason for DC to choose Torrance over other nearby cities with less expensive real estate. I just don't have enough info to establish a hypothesis.

Well based on what you stated earlier, I think DC's reason for possibly setting up shop in Torrence may be the same reason that Volks did. Target Demographic! 

Not only Japanese speaking people, but also many Americans as well. I vaguely recall seeing Danny post a picture of where the orders in the United States came from. The vast majority of those orders were in California and another cluster was on the east coast near New York. Now we all know that going into NY would be way more expensive! Not only that, but that's not where the bulk of DC's demographics either. The people in the area are already familiar with some aspects of Japanese culture as it pertains to anime and with an establish presence made by Volks, DC won't have to worry about completely introducing a new product. Smartdolls and Dollfie Dreams look about the same to an inexperience person the in the hobby and to others looking in from the outside. 

Additionally,  a lot of company's also tend to locate near or around competitors without affecting their sales in a negative way. You have die hard Volks and SmD fans who will go to where the want. But then you have the people in the middle who will go to either place as well. Plus with the items being extremely interchangeable, there is definitely a market for both Volks and Smd. I think it makes perfect sense for him to set up in Torrance. 

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foo

I haven't caught up on everything here, but I wanted to chime in on the TTYA stuff. AFAIK TTYA doesn't manufacture anything, they're a reseller. Stuff you can find on their website is also sold through other channels. At one point (after I bought these jeans and made a review for them on this forum somewhere) TTYA posted a notice on their website that they were going to stop selling all 1/3 scale/60 cm doll clothing and they removed the SD13 and DD clothing sections. And I was like.... BUT I LIKE YOUR STUFF! But if you check TTYA now they're selling those sizes again, with the same products they were selling 5 years ago.

Danny did say when he first started out that clothes were manufactured in Korea (this was just the Mirai default outfit at the time). There is a lot of doll clothing made in Korea and is sold through various outlets, my guess is he just commissioned the same factories.

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cfx

TTYA's etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ttyacom/items?ref=l2-shopheader-name&section_id=11000416) has added some stuff in the past year or so that's new; the stone wash jeans and those denim skirts in other colors. Oddly I don't see that stuff on their own site though.

My impression is they really concentrate on the Blythe and other small size stuff though so maybe that's why they were going to eliminate 1/3 stuff. I'm glad it's still available though.

 

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magique

Oh, that would explain Torrance being a hot spot for doll companies lol. As a Californian I guess I just never noticed there were a lot of Japanese places there? It always seemed kinda vacant and slightly industrial. Since Danny's mission is to reach as many new customers as possible, I figured he'd want to set up shop in a super populated area where he'd catch a lot of curious passersby. 

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BeyondTime
16 hours ago, sweets said:

Oh, that would explain Torrance being a hot spot for doll companies lol. As a Californian I guess I just never noticed there were a lot of Japanese places there? It always seemed kinda vacant and slightly industrial. Since Danny's mission is to reach as many new customers as possible, I figured he'd want to set up shop in a super populated area where he'd catch a lot of curious passersby. 

Well, let's see if he actually sets up shop in Torrence. His storefronts seem to me to be a bit more upscale and location conscious, kind of more like Apple stores. I would be more inclined to think he would want to do exactly as you suggest, and setup in a busy shopping mall or boutique shopping district. We have a place up here called University Avenue in Palo Alto, and it's this cozy little street lined with upscale boutiques, artisan eateries, and the like. That's the kind of place I would expect him to setup, just not there because the cost would be insane. 

 

Edited by BeyondTime
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The difference between Dollfie Dreams and Heroin? Heroin is illegal, Dollfie Dreams probably should be.

“Empty wallets, full hearts.” That’s probably an apt description for the effects of DD addiction

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nanika

Torrance is fairly close (~12 miles) to LAX (Los Angeles International Airport).  And there's less traffic driving that direction compared to heading into Downtown Los Angeles.  So it's fairly convenient for international companies, especially when you fly between Los Angeles and Tokyo.  There are a number of industrial areas in Torrance, so Danny could have a warehouse/distribution center versus just a fancy showroom.

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ajl

i see a lot of people talking about volks being in torrance, but i want to note that they moved to gardena a year or so ago, and that place is a hideous dump. i drove there once to pick up an order, and despite living somewhat close i now have them mail all my orders to me because i don't want to drive there anymore. :(

 

i wish they were still in torrance.

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BeyondTime
On 4/30/2019 at 4:58 AM, ajl said:

i see a lot of people talking about volks being in torrance, but i want to note that they moved to gardena a year or so ago, and that place is a hideous dump. i drove there once to pick up an order, and despite living somewhat close i now have them mail all my orders to me because i don't want to drive there anymore. :(

 

i wish they were still in torrance.

Gardena is a place that is slowly improving over time. Back in the 80s it was at the center of the Rodney King riots, and it had some serious gang problems back when the crack epidemic was at it's height. It's not 1988 any more, but recovery from that kind of thing can take a long time. I wouldn't call it a dump though, I've been in worse neighborhoods up here in NorCal. The Asian parts of Gardena are supposed to be reasonably nice, so I kind of wondered if their move isn't predicated on those parts eventually expanding out into the area they are in.

Edited by BeyondTime
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The difference between Dollfie Dreams and Heroin? Heroin is illegal, Dollfie Dreams probably should be.

“Empty wallets, full hearts.” That’s probably an apt description for the effects of DD addiction

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baldylox

Danny's Smartdoll store is in Gotanda, Tokyo.  It's not in any type of shopping area at all.  It's more residential than anything.  The building and signage is non descript as well.  All this points to one thing....

 

Danny doesn't care about being in a premium retail setting/area.  He knows his customers will find him no matter where his store is set up.  I think there's other variables he's looking at when setting up this new US location..... like ease of shipping to N.A. customers, ease of shipping from Japan to the US, building lease/purchase pricing, etc.

 

He will make money regardless of where his shop is located.  😉

 

 

Billy


I gave up counting the girls I own, they keep multiplying and won't stop.

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BeyondTime
2 hours ago, baldylox said:

Danny's Smartdoll store is in Gotanda, Tokyo.  It's not in any type of shopping area at all.  It's more residential than anything.  The building and signage is non descript as well.  All this points to one thing....

Billy

That's interesting because the interior of his shop seems very upscale. At least that's what his PR photos seem to show.

Did you ever hear back from him?

Edited by BeyondTime

The difference between Dollfie Dreams and Heroin? Heroin is illegal, Dollfie Dreams probably should be.

“Empty wallets, full hearts.” That’s probably an apt description for the effects of DD addiction

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freakie-oppa

Hmmm, I DO remember him showing off a place somewhere near the end of 2017ish, saying he was setting up a dedicated store in Kuala Lumpur for Smart Doll and that it would likely be launched in Spring of the next year.

However since the initial video he made showing the location, he hasn't spoken a peep regarding it, as far as I can tell.

With the US being so far away from the manufacturing home base of Smart Doll, I wonder if he'd really start a store there anytime soon when Malaysia's store hasn't kicked off either. 🤔

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Monty

I assumed the US store was a priority because he has often said the US is his biggest customer-base.

The thing is with a US store, and his apparent plan of making marvel/dc/hollywood/etc characters with cortex (and thus being able to make a LOT of them), his customer base is gonna go up and up and there's going to be a whole load of people coming in who had no prior interest in dolls - even more than there were already. People may wander in to a store, either by chance or because they maybe saw it advertised in relation to a superhero collab. With how much he seems to be pushing the dolls as a cool thing for young kids to have, the heightened visibility is gonna mean more parents will buy dolls for their kids as well - and the majority of these people aren't gonna have any idea who he is prior to this.

What this means is that, inevitably, people are gonna have issues, people are gonna ask questions - some of these questions are going to be completely benign and innocent and by someone with no knowledge of collectable dolls, but come across as hostile to him. And there's also gonna be people who refuse to accept his design philosophy, either because they didnt read it because they didnt know it was necessary, or because they bought one in store. And if he doesn't start cleaning up his internet manner to properly respond to such people, or if he starts literally banning people from going into the store it could be really bad news for him. Maybe the inevitable increase in this kind of thing will finally lead him to getting a PR manager though.

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Heshiko

Like Monty said, if the US accounts for 40% of Smart Doll sales as mentioned above, it would make sense that he'd want to have a retail base in America first just because that would significantly reduce cost of entry for a lot of owners in his biggest international market. Especially if they start fulfilling all US orders from that shop, rather than direct from Japan. Ship it bulk to a shop in the US (or even produce locally) and you cut customs and overall shipping costs to a fraction of the original cost (shipping to your own company allows you to list the production cost for customs, rather than the retail price). I work for a company that does the same thing.

Speaking from a logistics background I will say that physical distance doesn't matter as much as you'd think these days, it mostly just affects transit time; if something's going on a plane it's often as cheap for me to ship it to London from Texas as it is to ship it to New York from Texas 🤣 

For actual retail stock I'd guess they'll be shipping by ocean (though I'd be concerned about how dolls would hold up in transit - shipping containers get very very hot!). In that case the price still won't really change as much as you'd expect for the increased distance. Especially not for a destination in a HUGE ocean shipping hub like LA - there will be basically no in-land transit. 

(This is just my experience and speculation though)

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