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The 18th annual Pullip and Dal Doll Lovers Event drew a sold-out crowd of 115 attendees and 10 vendors to the Chicago suburb of Rosemont on June 13, 2026, for a full day of contests, shopping, and community. After a week of storms, convention day dawned warm and sunny despite this year’s theme, Raining Cats and Dogs. PUDDLE 2026 was held at the Holiday Inn Chicago O’Hare-Rosemont for the second year in a row.
Attendees received gift bags (“some of the best ever” said one attendee), shopped, participated in contests, met other guests through an icebreaker, and took many photos. Frequent attendee Christine Kennison commented, “The crafts were so wonderful. The pipe cleaner animal was so popular!! A great idea and so wonderfully run!”
Before the event the annual photo/art contest was held. Grand Prize was won by Callie Paar for Making a Splash. Carmela Rivellini won first prize art for It’s Raining Meow, and Arlene Benham won first prize photo for Rainy Day Kitties. See the entries here.
Friday got things started with a visit to Gigi’s Dolls and Sherry’s Teddy Bears in Chicago. The shop has been a great sponsor of PUDDLE for many years. As usual, the store welcomed shoppers with cookies and cold bottles of water. Early registration opened at 2 pm back at the hotel, and a group outing to Mitsuwa Marketplace in Arlington Heights took place in the evening.
The 10 vendors offered a huge variety of dolls (many brands and sizes), outfits, accessories, jewelry, and more. First time vendor Jan Heng said, “I had an absolute blast at my first PUDDLE. Thank you all for the warm welcome and kind support at my Who Has a Pet Books table.”
After lunch 11 people participated in the Dress Like Your Doll costume parade. Creativity abounded. First place was awarded to Zara Lateef for her assembled outfit matching Pullip Kuromi. Jace Stovall came in second, dressed in thrifted and made casual gothic attire that matched their mini me Jace, and Maeve Dillon placed third, twinning her Pullip Cinta (a Charon Dolls custom) “using things found around the house or thrifted.”
“This was only my second Puddle, but I feel like I’ve already had such a great experience and managed to build meaningful relationships in the community,” said Jace after the event. “I come from Louisville KY, and there’s not much there in terms of dolls. PUDDLE has been such an amazing experience, and really gave me something to look forward to and keep me busy through the year, after two family losses last year. It got me to draw again and start crafting again which has helped me a lot, and I love sharing my art and creations with the PUDDLE community.”
Best in the Theme was awarded to Melissa Sowers for her custom Mao Mao from the Apothecary Diaries. Other custom contest winners included CyberGoth Girl by E.M Thomas, Jace Stovall by Jace Stovall, and Eli the cat by Jane Easterly in the full custom category; Pet Café by Jane Easterly in the mini category; Human Luna by Jodi L., Wedding Showers by Stephan, and Kitties & Rainbows by Chris Grapengeter in the Smorgasbord Outfit Category; Artemus II/To the Moon by Callie Paar in the Pullip Family outfit category; and Sara by Janeen Feldman, Jenerta and Journee Myou sculpts by Jennette Bullock, and Little Green Lady by Shantan in the Smorgasbord category.
The PUDDLE community believes in giving back, and this year we made donations to four animal rescue organizations: Cache Creek Rescue, Iowa Parrot Rescue, Animal Protective League (whose facility was destroyed by a tornado in June), and Lanai Cat Sanctuary.
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