The Volks company has been spending this past year celebrating the 10th anniversary of the creation of their first ball jointed resin doll. Volks started as a small hobby shop in Kyoto Japan in 1972 which was run by Mr. and Mrs Shigeta. (Mr. Shigeta is the President of the company to this day.) The clientele for Volks was mostly male, but Mrs. Shigeta had always hoped to find a product that would have more appeal to females. In 1998, after Mrs. Shigeta saw a bisque BJD, the idea of creating a ‘garage kit’ doll was born.

The first Dolpa was held in February 1999. At this event the ‘Super Dolfie’ four sister dolls (57 cm.) were released; Kira, Sara, Nana, and Megu. These dolls were quite different from the popular dolls in the doll scene at the time which was dominated by smaller fashion dolls. The new Volks ‘SD’ dolls were strung with elastic, ball jointed, and made of polyurethane resin, similar to the garage kits that Volks made for male hobbyists. The Superdollfies were dolls made to be customizable. In 2000 the Nono doll was released along with an abundance of clothing, shoes, accessories, and furniture for the dolls. There was also the first limited edition doll, Megu. The first character doll, Ian, from the manga “Fuguruma-kan Raihouki” by Kei Toume, was also released in 2000. Ian was also the first doll in the ‘mini’ or ‘MSD’ size (he was 40 cm.) The following year, Volks took their Dolpa events on the road and began to hold hometown parties in major cities throughout Japan. In 2001, the Super Dollfie Full Choice System was introduced, allowing customers to pick the parts they wished in order to create their own doll.

In 2002, the first SD13 doll was introduced with a more grownup look. Several new boy styles were also released, which quickly became as popular as the girls. The first doll with pointed elf ears was offered, and also a “dreamy eyed’ head, along with optional hands. In 2003 the first ‘pure skin’ dolls using UV stabilized resin were seen. By 2003 Volks began to open showrooms in other countries, with the first in Seoul, Korea.

To mark the 10 year event, Volks will be releasing their Anniversary doll Standard Fair Limited Kira. She will have proportions that match the dolls that were released in 1999. Kira will be available for sale on October 4th.

This year the US branch of Volks’ Tenshi no Sumika (Angel’s Nest) in L.A. is having their ‘Dolpa’ or doll party online. While many companies have since created dolls of jointed customizable resin, Volks still shines for the sheer quality of their dolls. In the ten years since their first BJD was designed, Volks has grown into an international phenomenon.

Information on this article was obtained, in part by reading “Super Dollfie, 10 Year History” available HERE translated into English on the VolksUSA store site.