Xavier Roberts Florida in 1978. Going into business as Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc., Roberts hired local seamstresses and started producing his dolls in a converted medical clinic in his hometown of Cleveland. "Babyland General Hospital" still exists today in a new location and is a popular destination for Cabbage Patch kid enthusiasts. By 1982 the Little People had evolved into Cabbage Patch Kids, licensed to a company called Coleco. The Cabbage Patch Kids were a huge hit, quickly becoming a major toy fad. In 1984 alone 20 million were bought, and by 1999, 95 million dolls had been sold worldwide. Roberts never
R. John Wright Dolls The technique and style of the R. John Wright dolls underwent significant changes throughout 1977-78. The early felt dolls of the Steiff Company were a strong inspiration. The Wrights were also inspired by the early molded cloth dolls of Kathe Kruse and the felt Lenci dolls. In 1978, through trial and error, the Wrights were able to reinvent the art of molded felt dolls using their own techniques. In 1978, R. John Wright joined the United Federation of Doll Clubs (UFDC) and was elected to the National Institute of American Doll Artists (NIADA) where he served as the Standards Chairman