Since I mentioned them in my book, several people have enquired about my glass-eyed dolls. I have only ever made a few, mainly to order, using eyes made specially for me by a German artisan. Sadly he died a few years ago and since then I have used the remainder of my small stock and have been unable to source a suitable alternative. The smallest commercially available glass eyes are 2mm, which although very small, are way too big for my standard toy dolls.
I've toyed with the idea of trying to make my own using a variety of different methods, none of which have been successful, mainly due to the difficulty of achieving a perfectly matched pair. Making one eye is doable.... getting a pair which are identical is a whole different kettle of fish.
I still have just one glass-eyed doll left, which I've kept for myself, who resides in La Mignonette. She was my very first prototype and I made all my mistakes on her, so I can't possibly sell her, but she's quite happy in the shop and has forged strong friendships with the other dolls, apart from haughty Belladonna, who, mystifyingly, for reasons no-one can discern, calls her Cyclops.
However, recently I've been experimenting with a hybrid method which makes china painted eyes look more like glass paperweight eyes, via a my foolproof, patented system of trial and error. It's a complete faff and takes ages so it would be impossible to use it for more than a few dolls at a time, but it is showing cautiously encouraging results. When I get it right it produces a slightly iridescent iris and a domed glass corneal layer which magnifies the effect, echoing the look of a blown glass eye. Getting it right consistently is the issue, but I'm gradually developing, honing and refining the technique and am planning to use it for my dressed mignonette dolls for sale over the coming months.
*fingers crossed*
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