Club members enjoy a meal with their dolls at the popular Timbuktu Restaurant.
Liz Castensen holds her Volks vinyl doll at a club meetup.

DOLLS: What is the name of your club, and where is it based?

Jennifer Kohn Murtha (club founder and presi­dent): Our club is called the Best Friends Forever BJD Club and is based in Maryland (United Federa­tion of Doll Clubs Region 11).

DOLLS: When was the club founded, and what in­spired its creation?

Murtha: It was founded in 2016 and chartered by UFDC in 2017. It was inspired by my love of BJDs (ball-jointed dolls) and the fact that I knew a lot of young people who were similarly interested. We got together, one of the kids picked the name, and here we are.

DOLLS: What is the club’s current mission or main purpose?

Murtha: Our club is the only one in UFDC devoted solely to BJDs. We educate by reaching out to everyone who’s interested in these dolls and have done seminars, programs, workshops, and special exhibits with UFDC and in our region.

Tessie, the club’s 2020 mascot, is a Soom Mecha Angel Saiph doll with a custom face-up.
Elfdoll Ryung wears an original outfit made by Michele Hardy.

DOLLS: Does the club focus on specific types or styles of dolls?

Murtha: We focus on Asian and Western BJDs. These are resin dolls that are strung, are customizable, have removable eyes and wigs, and started in Japan in about 1998, made by Volks of Japan.

DOLLS: What has been the club’s most significant challenge?

Murtha: We always met at a wonderful retirement community — for free! But when COVID-19 came, there went our meeting place. Zoom was available to us through one of our members, so we were the first club in UFDC to use it. We now have full members from all over the U.S. and have been visited by Kaye Wiggs, Emperis BJDs, Butterflies n Things, and more.

DOLLS: Approximately how many members are in the club to­day?

Murtha: There are about 75, but we’ll be at 100 by year’s end.

DOLLS: What events does the club host or attend together?

Murtha: Many of our members attended the UFDC conven­tion in July in Norfolk, Virginia. We also did a special exhibit of these dolls at the Miller Branch of the Ellicott City Library in September, one of the most artistic libraries in the world.

Nevaeh Mary, photographed and owned by Robin Hochtein, was made by Kaye Wiggs for the club’s fifth birthday.
Smart Doll Kitsu is posed for a photograph by Rich Carrasco.

DOLLS: Does the club hold regular meetings?

Murtha: We meet on the third Sunday of the month, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time. Like every other UFDC club, we have social hour, but it’s on Zoom. Then we have our business meeting, a program, sales and more socializing, and say goodbye until next month. We meet 10 months of the year.

DOLLS: What is the process for becoming a member?

Murtha: We ask that prospective Besties fill out a membership application, either online or by snail mail. They must attend three meetings, at which point we vote on them.

DOLLS: How can others learn more about your club?

Murtha: I was one of the first five women to sell cars in Mary­land. I’m not shy about reaching out for the sale. We have a membership chair who rocks a spreadsheet, and we also have a Facebook page, which has more than double our club members. Some have actually joined. I also put our activities on my own Facebook page, which has been very successful. I put fliers and such on Maryland meetup groups and more.