Xavier Roberts

Short Biography

Xavier Roberts (born October 31, 1955, Cleveland, Georgia), manufacturer of Cabbage Patch Kids, is an American businessman. During the American Folk art movement of the late 1970s, Roberts observed techniques involving the making of dolls from various materials. Influenced by the quilts that his mother made, he began experimenting with a quilted doll. After much experimentation, Roberts created a type of doll he called "Little People". Roberts and a small group of friends began to travel from state to state in the southeastern U.S. attending various folk art exhibitions. At these exhibitions, Roberts began selling these handcrafted dolls he called "babies". Going into business as Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc., Roberts started producing Little People in his hometown of Cleveland, at a converted medical clinic, which he rechristened "Babyland General Hospital".