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 hand made 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.
Production history:
Coleco years:
The dolls attracted the attention of toy manufacturer Coleco, which acquired a license from Original Appalachian Artworks and began mass production in 1982.[4] 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,[5] 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.
At the peak of their popularity, the dolls were a must-have toy for Christmas.[6][7] Parents across the United States flocked to stores to try to obtain one of the Cabbage Patch Kids for their children, with fights occasionally erupting between parents over the hard-to-find dolls. In later years, Coleco introduced variants on the original Cabbage Patch Kids, and derivatives of the original line of dolls continued to be marketed.
International variations:
In the 1980s when Coleco was producing the dolls for the North American market, the global craze was fulfilled by other companies:
Jesmar Toy Company made the dolls for the European Market, Including Spain, Italy and Germany.
Lili Ledy Toy Company made the dolls for Mexico and South America.
Triang-Pedigree Toy Company made the dolls for South Africa.
Tsukuda Toy Company manufactured the dolls for Japan and Asia.
The Dolls manufactured by each of these companies, and along with the factories that produced the dolls for North America, produced dolls that were slightly different from one another. Dolls that were made for consumers in other countries than the United States hold a higher value in the eye of some American collectors.
Hasbro years:
Hasbro took over the rights to produce Cabbage Patch dolls in 1988 as Coleco went bankrupt, and continued to make the dolls with various gimmicks, including dolls that played kazoos. Some of the more popular doll lines to come out under the Cabbage Patch Kids name included the "Birthday Kids", "Splash 'n' Tan Kids", and "Pretty Crimp and Curl". Hasbro gradually began making the dolls for younger children, which led to smaller and smaller dolls. Although Cabbage Patch dolls were still best selling toys, Hasbro never really revitalized the Cabbage Patch market. In 1994, Mattel acquired the licensing rights to the dolls from Original Appalachian Artworks.[citation needed]
Mattel years:
In 1994, Mattel took over the Cabbage Patch brand, including production.the first Mattel babies and 'Kids hit the stores in 1995.[citation needed]
The Mattel Cabbage Patch dolls are not limited to cloth bodies and included dolls made from vinyl, which produced a more durable play doll. The Mattel dolls are mostly sized 14" or smaller, and most variants were individualized with a gimmick to enhance their collectibility, e.g. some dolls played on water-toys, swam, ate food, or brushed their teeth.[citation needed]
Some memorable Mattel lines include the updated Kids line of basic cloth dolls that came with birth certificates, the OlympiKids that were made to coincide with the 1996 Olympics, and the Cabbage Patch Fairies. Additionally, to celebrate the dolls' 15th anniversary, Mattel created a line of exclusively female dolls with a new molded fabric face, dressed in a custom outfits and packaged in collectible boxes. These were 16 inches tall, the same measurement of the first Coleco Cabbage Patch Kids.[citation needed]
Toys "R" Us Kids:
In 2001, retailer Toys "R" Us took over the Cabbage Patch brand from Mattel, producing 20-inch Kids and 18-inch babies, both with cloth bodies and vinyl heads. They were packaged in cardboard cabbage leaf seats. In 2001, the 20-inch dolls debuted in the Times Square flagship store. These were created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the line, and were available both online and in stores around the US.[citation needed]
Play Along Toys:
The Toys "R" Us line lasted until Play Along toys obtained exclusive licensing rights to produce the Cabbage Patch Kids doll line. In 2003, Play Along launched a Cabbage Patch Kids 25th Anniversary collection using some of the original head sculpts from the very first Coleco editions. Play Along also partnered with Carvel Ice Cream in a co-branding campaign. The resulting co-branded Cabbage Patch Kids were packaged with a Carvel-branded ice cream cone.[citation needed]
Jakks Pacific:
JAKKS Pacific acquired Play Along Toys and assumed the master toy licensee (c2011) for the Cabbage Patch Kids. Jakks introduced a 14-inch Cabbage Patch Kids Fashionality(TM) line and other Cabbage Patch Kid products. In 2013 Jakks Pacific released the Celebration edition to commemorate the 30th Birthday of the licensed Cabbage Patch Kids.
Wicked Cool Toys:
Wicked Cool Toys is now the current master toy licensee for the Cabbage Patch Kids
Information Source: Wikipedia – 2016.
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