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
Lupita dolls handcrafts but rather as works of art. This project was sponsored by CONACULTA and had workshops and exhibitions in various parts of Mexico. This was followed in 2010 by the Miss Lupita project headed by Caroline Esparragoza in Mexico City, with support from Chellet and the Fondo Nacional para las Artes y Cultura. The goal of this project is to preserve the traditional techniques to make the dolls but to update the designs. Dolls were created by ordinary people with help from artisans and artists and the results were exhibited in Mexico, Japan and Portugal. There was even a workshop