Xavier Roberts is the creator of the Cabbage Patch Dolls. In 1976 ,while attending art school, he began creating soft-sculpture dolls. He called them "Little People" and packaged each one with a birth certificate. His creations were a hit at art and craft shows and in 1982 he arranged for Coleco to mass produce the dolls, they were called Cabbage Patch Kids. The end of 1983 approximately three million dolls had been sold. They sold for approximately $40.00 each.
The original Cabbage Patch Kids doll was relaunched in 2002 and retailed for $265.00. They were very different from the traditional cute baby doll. They had pudgy faces, stumpy arms and small close-set eyes. Each was subtly different from every other one as a computer randomly placed small changes in the manufacturing process for each doll. Cabbage Patch Dolls were the most wildly successful dolls of the 1980s.
Roberts showcased the dolls in his art exhibit. He dressed his assistants in maternity ward clothing. He allowed people to adopt them, and passed out birth certificates and adoption papers. The marketing gimmick worked and sales exploded across the United States. The dolls were so popular that fistfights broke out between potential customers. Sales grew from $60 million in their first year to more than $600 million in 1985.
Companies tried to profit by creating facsimiles of the dolls. The dolls were unable to sustain the long term popularity like other dolls but in a short period of time became the biggest fad of the 1980s. You can still visit Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia and adopt your own original cloth Cabbage Patch kid.
Coleco went out of business, and then Hasbro and Mattel took turns selling the dolls. The dolls never recaptured the hearts of little kids.
Cabbage Patch Dolls Original Look And Feel
Play Along and 4Kids are planning to stay true to the original look and themes of the dolls. . The dolls will be "up for adoption" in stores around the United States by the end of the summer. There are over 95 million Cabbage Patch Kids already in circulation. Time will tell if the new Cabbage Patch Dolls will be a plaything that children will love.
Where Are Cabbage Patch Dolls Today?
Mattel still makes Cabbage Patch dolls. However, the dolls do not have cloth bodies--the dolls continue to be all-vinyl. The dolls are 14" or smaller. They have a "gimmick"--they play on water-toys, swim, or eat. Most of the Mattel play Cabbage Patch dolls are available at retailers such as Toys R Us for prices generally around $20.00. And then--you can find thousands of Cabbage Patch dolls on eBay. Over 80 million Cabbage Patch dolls have been produced. So they are by no means rare.
You can find naked and dirty Cabbage Patch dolls, near-mint in box Cabbage Patch dolls clothing, and merchandise. Because of the great quantities of these dolls , most do not bring very high prices. However, certain rare varieties and very early mint-in-box dolls can fetch over $100. . Most Cabbage Patch dolls , bring prices in the $5 to $50 range. If you can't get enough of Cabbage Patch Dolls you can still visit Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia and adopt your own original cloth Cabbage Patch kid.
This year marks both the 20th anniversary of the original handmade soft sculptured Cabbage Patch Kids . and the 15th anniversary of the mass-produced version by Mattel. They no longer generate that level of excitement, and many may believe that they were just a passing fad. But the Kids have quietly remained one of the top selling toys with sales of approximately 100 million to date.
The idea that a doll described as "homely" could cause such a stir, is almost as surprising as the identity of Xavier Roberts. The sixth and last child of a poor North Georgia family, Xavier endured ridicule for his small stature and threadbare clothing. He began at an early age to create quilts and pottery. He was determined to become an artist. He worked his way slowly through college.
Xavier got a job at a gift shop, giving him his first chance to display the soft sculpture dolls he was just starting to make. When a customer first approached him to buy one of his dolls, his first response was "They are not for sale," "But you can adopt one for $30.00. Soon he had more orders than he could fill. Encouraged by the response to his dolls, he designed a birth certificate, envelopes, and nametags. With the last of his money, he had 1000 of these identifiers printed.
He started to take his babies to art and craft shows. He displayed them in nursery settings (in playpens, in high chairs, and with toys) Soon he raised his prices to $125.00 and hired more workers. The dolls were adopted as quickly as he could make them.
Xavier longed to be recognized as an artist. In October 1977, he won first prize in the sculpture category at the Osceola Craft Show in Kissimmee,FL, Realizing that not many people outside of North Georgia were likely to see his work, he decided to expand his business . In 1978, he developed a pattern, making the babies much simpler and less expensive to produce. In July of that year, he was intent on enlisting the help of five school friends and forming a corporation. Five years later he was an overnight success. |
