Cabbage Patch Kids
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| Type | Dolls |
|---|---|
| Inventor | Xavier Roberts |
| Company |
Coleco (1982–1988) Hasbro (1988–1994) Mattel (1994–2003) Toys "R" Us (2003) Play Along (2004–2011) Jakks Pacific (2011–2014) Wicked Cool Toys (2015–present) |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | 1978–present |
| Official website | |
Cabbage Patch Kids are a line of soft sculptured dolls created by Xavier Roberts in 1955 and registered in the United States copyright office in 1978.
As a 21 year old art student, Xavier utilized the quilting skills he learned from his mother and the historic technique of "needle molding" to develop his own line of fabric sculptures. He called these hand-stitched, one-of-a-kind, soft fabric sculptures "The Little People". His Little People were not offered for sale, but were "adopted" each with their own individual name and birth certificate. Other soft sculpture dolls dating back to the 1800s were created using similar needle molding techniques.
The Little People were first offered at arts and crafts shows, then later at Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia. The doll brand went on to become one of the most popular toy fads of the 1980s and one of the longest-running doll franchises in America.
The name change to Cabbage Patch Kids was made in 1982 when Xavier's company, Original Appalachian Artworks, began to license a smaller version of the handmade creations to a toy manufacturer named Coleco. An abbreviated version of the discovery legend was reproduced on every Cabbage Patch Kids product from 1983 onward. Parker Brothers published the original story retitled "Xavier's Fantastic Discovery" in 1984 and two Albums that went Gold. The characters appeared in many other Cabbage Patch merchandising products ranging from animated cartoons to board games:
Xavier Roberts was a ten-year-old boy who discovered the Cabbage Patch Kids by following a BunnyBee behind a waterfall into a magical Cabbage Patch, where he found the Cabbage Patch babies being born. To help them find good homes he built BabyLand General in Cleveland, Georgia where the Cabbage Patch Kids could live and play until they were adopted.
BunnyBees are bee-like creatures with rabbit ears they use as wings. They pollinate cabbages with their magic crystals to make Cabbage Patch babies.
Colonel Casey is a large stork who oversees Babyland General Hospital. He's the narrator of the Cabbage Patch Kids' story.
Otis Lee is the leader of the gang of Cabbage Patch Kids that befriended Xavier.
The dolls attracted the attention of toy manufacturer Coleco, which acquired a license from Original Appalachian Artworks and began mass production in 1982. The Coleco Cabbage Patch Kids had large, round vinyl heads (originally of a different, hard plastic), and soft fabric bodies, and were produced from 1982 to 1989, many at a factory in Amsterdam, New York. The first two years production was all from the Far East, with nine head variations produced and computer-matched with bodies to ensure each doll was "different." It was, in fact a marketing ploy that worked quite well as a wide range of variations resulted. (Source: Larry Moniz, then senior account supervisor for the Coleco account at Richard Weiner Public Relations in NYC). After Coleco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Cabbage Patch Kids were later mass-produced by other companies, including Hasbro, Mattel, Toys R Us, Play Along, Jakks Pacific and currently Wicked Cool Toys.
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