Pullip and Dal Doll Lovers Event 2026
P.U.D.D.L.E was June 12, 2026 and it was a blast!
This past weekend, my mom and I attended our 12th Pullip and Dal Doll Lovers Event in Rosemont, IL. Affectionately known as PUDDLE, this fan gathering celebrated 18 years running thanks to the hard work of showrunner Jane Easterly.
For the Love of Pullip
PUDDLE started as a small fan gathering held at Mitsuwa, a Chicagoland Japanese market. Since then, attendance has grown and locations have changed, but the passion behind the event hasn’t wavered. The idea was to create an event where collectors could share their love for Pullip dolls by displaying, customizing and mingling with fellow fans, and that hasn't changed. If anything, PUDDLE has grown from a fan gathering of strangers into an ever-growing, always-welcoming community of collectors.
One quick story that embodies what PUDDLE is comes thanks to my mom. Last year at PUDDLE, she picked up two super cute TV kitty ball jointed dolls. When my mom went to put them together, she discovered that she had no idea how to get them dressed in their outfits. For a year, they sat half-dressed until PUDDLE 2026, when two attendees who had watched our video and knew of our problems, volunteered to use some of their time at the show to help us get them dressed properly— which took a lot more effort than we expected! Those two really made my mom’s day. They’re great examples of the wonderful people who attend PUDDLE.
Gotta Play To Win
While early years of PUDDLE were heavily focused on Groove and Jun Planning Pullip dolls, the ones brought to the event now are far more diverse. Whether it’s due to lack of availability, quality control on Groove’s part or the discontinuing of the popular and affordable customizable Make It Own kits, Pullip dolls are almost in the minority now. The guest tables were filled most prominently with Danny Choo’s Smart Doll in all shapes, colors and sizes. Beyond that, there were other Asian ball jointed dolls, Blythe, Monster High, Mori Lolli and, of course, Pullip and friends. All dolls are truly welcome at PUDDLE and embraced in the dress like me contest and custom doll contest, which are open to all dolls.
Besides catching up with old acquaintances and seeing all the pretty dolls, one of my favorite parts of PUDDLE is the ability to enter contests! For fans who can't attend, the Art and Photography contests can be entered remotely. For attendees, there are multiple custom doll contests to enter on the day of the event, including full and partial Pullip doll customs, custom outfit, a mini category and the Smorgasbord category for dolls outside of the Pullip family.
As an attendee, I do think they need to change the contest a bit. It’s one of my few critiques of the event, honestly. The multiple categories worked back in the day when Pullip dolls were the star attraction of PUDDLE, but now it’s so diversified they need to rework them a bit to reflect the current trends. My suggestion would be to combine the full and partial custom Pullip competitions into one. Do the same for Smart Dolls, one competition that includes full and partial customs. Keep the mini category, but open it up to any mini doll that is a similar size to little Pullips. And for all other types of dolls, keep the Smorgasbord category. Custom outfit is another category I wouldn't change, beyond allowing dolls of any kind to enter a single category and also having a separate Smart Doll category. It would be easier for everyone involved, I believe, as the biggest issue we noticed with 2026 was that there was some confusion as to how the contest room should be run and where entries fit.
Shop Till You Drop
Let’s not forget to talk about the vendors! There were a lot of wonderful vendors at PUDDLE this year— some new and some returning. I’m a huge fan of having new vendors at shows and am thankful to see some at PUDDLE, like Who Has a Pet Books, MrsFrazzled/Meliza P. Studio and Island Frog Dolls. I didn’t buy much at the show, but I did try to support these vendors and bought something from each. I have to call out Meliza P. Studio, which makes the cutest tiny dolls. They had Kermit, Piggy, Nightmare Before Christmas, Raggedy Ann and others. I picked up a cute Strawberry Shortcake, which I’m sure my dolls will fight over due to its adorableness.
2027 and Beyond
Overall, mom and I had a great time at the 18th annual Pullip and Dal Doll Lovers Event. 2027's PUDDLE theme is 'Life Is A Circus.' I’m very excited about this theme. You can do so much with it! I’m already looking forward to working on a few customs; the ideas are flowing!
A quick throwback before I wrap this up, I wrote an article for Doll Magazine called For the Love of Pullips: the People of PUDDLE a few years back, as well as a great piece for DOLL NEWS that covers the history of PUDDLE, titled PUDDLE Style: 13 Years of Celebrating Pullips, for their Winter 2022 issue. These two articles are great reads! Those, as well as some basic write-ups, are above.
If you’re a doll collector in the Illinois area, check out PUDDLE. It's a great way to spend a Saturday! And time is of the essence as Jane revealed that looking ahead, she may be looking for someone new to spearhead PUDDLE as we head into the 2030s. Time will tell what happens next, so I highly recommend joining in on the fun while you can. Visit my YouTube channel and search PUDDLE to watch our yearly coverage of the event and for those who are curious about our original thoughts, here’s an old blog post from our first PUDDLE!
If you have any questions about PUDDLE, I recommend liking them on Facebook and checking out their website. See you under the big top at PUDDLE 2027!