🛠️ This site is under construction. If you find an error, large or small, please report it!
If you get a 404 status code, just keep refreshing.
About the Doll Finder
I HOPE YOU LIKE TO READ BECAUSE...ALL THE TEXT!
Where did you get the idea for the Doll Finder?
I didn’t come up with the idea! A long time ago, there was a website called “dollection.fi”. This website had a small database of dolls. You could search this small database to find dolls with vampire fangs or search for dolls with open mouths. That database was extremely limited, however.
What I loved about this website was that you could compare the sizes of dolls using photos. You could click on the dolls and add their photos to a canvas. You could drag and drop these photos anywhere on the canvas to see how the sizes compared between the dolls.
These photos were contributed by individuals all over the internet and at doll meet-ups. I used them mostly to see if hybrids would work out! You could line these up with the scale in the canvas for accurate comparisons. The database was limited, so I often superimposed other photos in Photoshop (see photo).
An image of the drag-and-drop system in use. Notice each doll was photographed with a measurement scale as a background.
What happened to the Dollection website?
Dollection vanished, as the owner was no longer interested in dolls. Someone on Den of Angels managed to procure this code and tried to resurrect the site, but they ultimately vanished as well. I also contacted them saying I was interested in the project, but the owner of the website said they had already given the information to the aforementioned individual and denied my request. I wanted to recreate this site, but while I knew HTML and CSS, I had no other coding experience.. So, in a desperate attempt, I made a Flickr Page with instructions from the old site in hopes that people would contribute images. This didn't work out, and I also dropped the project.
I can't code
Fast forward a few years, no-code options began to pop up. I had been extensively researching databases, but they all required quite a bit of knowledge in coding. I tried to learn some SQL stuff, but that didn't work out. I thought about Google Sheets, but the apps to convert Google Sheets to webpages were priced astronomically. I then found Airtable. I began to flesh out the database, added hundreds of dolls, and added it to a website. The database was ugly and loaded extremely slowly, but it was up and running.
Soon after, I found pory.io, which allowed you to create a website-looking app that integrated with Airtable. It took a few years to get to that point, but things were progressing. I advertised the site, and a group of about five of us were adding quite a lot of dolls to the database.
Losing steam
The five individuals who helped add dolls to the database seemed to have lost interest and vanished. Which is understandable, as adding a doll to the database is quite a daunting task. I have added about 700 dolls myself, but no pain, no gain...or so they say.
Then Airtable dropped a bombshell. They were reducing the number of records you could have in the free version to around 1,000 records. The database had already reached that point! Upgrading to a paid plan would cost me around $300 a year. I work a minimum wage job and simply could not afford that. At that point, I decided to accept donations and even thought about earning money by hosting ads on the site. This honestly scared me. That would essentially be running my own business, and I have no idea what I'm doing! So once again, the project was shelved.
Airtable alternative
I enjoyed building websites and working on the project in general, so I couldn't just drop this project. So, years later, I found Baserow after researching databases again in my free time. They were a much cheaper alternative to Airtable, and Baserow offered a native solution to pory.io. With Baserow, I didn't have to use two different programs.
Baserow still has a few idiosyncrasies, as they are relatively new. They are lacking a file upload feature, which is a major component of the database. However, they are adding and improving features little by little. I am hoping the database will improve little by little from now on as well. The Doll Finder may never actually be used, but I enjoy working on it. Who knows what the future holds?
P.S. Baserow announced they are adding a file upload feature...but only to those who sub to their highest tier paid plan. Even Airtable offers this for free with their free plan. #bitter
Who runs this site?
I run the site alone. By myself. In my free time. The website, database, adding dolls....everything is done by little ol' lonely me. I also manage the ads manually on my own (raw code), as well as manage Discord server. Send help.
MEET THE MASCOT
Who is Doffee?
Doffee is the site's mascot. I thought the website would be better with a mascot, and I wanted to try drawing one. You can see him in various places on the site providing help to those who with to use the Doll Finder!
Pronounced DOFF-ee. Rhymes with coffee! I was going to say it was pronounced DOH-fi (fi as in five), but it sounds weird. I used the first two letters in Doll Finder to make the name.
So original, I know.
Doffee, the Doll Finders mascot, is not available for use outside of this website. Doffee's character, design, and artwork belong to the owner of this website. Any unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Copyright © Deadra Kolker 2025
BALL-JOINTED DOLL HOBBYIST | ARTIST | DOLL FINDER WEBMASTER
Hello, I'm Deadra.
I'm a quiet anxious introvert with a resting bitch face. I am obsessed with collectible figures, perhaps a bit too much. I enjoy reading manga, manhua, and manhwa. I also enjoy watching anime and gaming. I am also an artist with a Bachelor's degree, but I suck at math. I hate watercolor and acrylic painting, but I love oil painting.
Advertisement Space!
Dedicated section advertisement space. This space can have up to six columns! Text, images, buttons, and links can be put here. You can even add videos!*
Please note that the website builder can limit design choices.
*Please make the videos muted by default, or disable autoplay.
Advertisement
Doffee, the Doll Finders mascot, is not available for use outside of this website. Doffee's character, design, and artwork belong to the owner of this website.
Any unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.
Copyright © Deadra Kolker 2025
