Cabbage Patch Kids Though Xavier Roberts is the creator of the Cabbage Patch Kids brand, many of the brand's defining characteristics, such as the dolls' overly round faces and that they came with an adoption certificate, can be traced back to Martha Nelson Thomas, an American folk artist from Kentucky. Before Roberts ever became involved in the toy industry, Thomas created and marketed her own line of dolls, called Doll Babies, which she sold at local arts and craft shows and markets. The two crossed paths at a state fair in 1976 and Roberts began purchasing her dolls to sell at a profit
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