Cleveland, Ga. – The roots of the world famous Cabbage Patch Kids are based in art and their origins go back more than 30 years, to soft sculptured artworks called “Little People®”.

A young artist named Xavier Roberts first created his Little People fabric sculptures in his hometown of Cleveland, Georgia in the late 70’s.  He exhibited them at regional art shows and was awarded a blue ribbon for “Dexter” in 1978.  Xavier told his audience he found his Little People in a Cabbage Patch and not for sale.  When someone fell in love with one and just had to have it, Xavier would have them make a life long commitment to “adopt” and care for this one-of-a-kind individual.  By 1982 the demand for these hand-stitched works of art led Xavier and his young company, Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc. to license the name Cabbage Patch Kids and their copyrighted likenesses.  Coleco, a successful toy company in Connecticut, had the ability and wherewithal to produce Cabbage Patch Kids with vinyl faces and a lower “adoption fees”.   In 1983, their first year of delivering babies, Coleco brought more than 2.5 million Cabbage Patch Kids into the world.  The Cabbage Patch Kids became an instant cultural phenomenon.   Today Xavier’s company still delivers hand stitched to birth Cabbage Patch Kids in Cleveland, Georgia and offers them for adoption through BabyLand General Hospital and www.cabbagepatchkids.com.

Original, collectible, hand-sculpted babies are delivered daily at BabyLand General® Hospital where visitors can actually witness the birth of a Cabbage Patch Kid from Mother Cabbage.  Licensed Patch Nurses (LPNs) and Doctors also give adoption consultations and Cabbage Patch Kid parenting advice.  Admission is free for this top tourist attraction.

With a family of more than 120 million Cabbage Patch Kids worldwide, Xavier Roberts and Play Along Toys introduced the 25th Anniversary Limited Edition Cabbage Patch Kids.   These  Anniversary Kids are replicas of those first Coleco Cabbage Patch Kids and are bound to bring back memories of parents who stood in line for hours, searched across the country and did anything they could to find the perfect one-of-a-kind Cabbage Patch Kid for someone they loved. 

Little People and Cabbage Patch Kid collectors enjoy learning about the history of their babies and sharing that knowledge with one another.  Similar to researching one’s genealogy or working on the family tree, collectors of mass market and Original soft-sculpture babies are extremely knowledgeable of their babies’ history. Like Renoir’s brush strokes, collectors are familiar with evolving techniques from hair styling to blushing, which date the various editions.

Some of the earliest babies hand stitched to birth originally adopted for as little as thirty-five dollars and now range as high as $30,000 to $50,000 when re-adopted by collectors.

Whether you choose a smaller, vinyl faced Cabbage Patch Kid from Play Along Toys, or a hand-stitched-to-birth Original soft sculpture from BabyLand General Hospital, your Cabbage Patch Kid will likely become a well-loved member of your family for generations.   Just ask anyone who’s had the experience. Cabbage Patch Kids become our friends for life.  Oh, the fun we have with our Cabbage Patch Kid Family!