[July 15, 2011] Child artist's doodling spurs clothing company Tweet Jul 15, 2011 (La Crosse Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Seven-year-old Liam Farrell's parents always knew he liked to draw. The family couldn't even walk through the house without nearly stepping on his work. But it took a sketch of an alien that made his father realize just how good it was. Now the young boy's art appears on clothing throughout the country. Liam's parents are early-1990s La Crescent High School graduates Bill and April Farrell, who live in Mound, Minn. After seeing the alien, they decided to find out more about the meaning of their son's drawings. "It looked so much like something," Bill said. "It was not just a regular doodle." And it was something. The figure was a famous war hero from Mars. It has an eye inside of another eye that can shoot laser beams. The automatic feet transport the alien anywhere, and his hands can slice things. Bill named the alien "Bobiam," after Liam's nickname. From that point, Bill started collecting his son's drawings. Soon after, the family made shirts out of their favorite ones. They placed Liam's sketches on the table and each picked their favorite, narrowing it down to a select few. "(The shirts) are the only thing any of us wear," April said. The next step was to let the world see the unique gear. They launched a website in February for their company, Artistic Streetwear. Bobiam became the logo. Bill quit his job as a mechanical engineer to run the site full-time. "I never had a good idea on how to do it," he said. "But when I have something this special, I had to take a chance on it." For now, there are just a couple of clothing branches under Artistic Streetwear: the Bobiam line and a UV-ray sun-protection line headed by April, a board-certified dermatologist. Soon, the family will add specialty lines for athletes and children. The company quickly grew, adding on friends and family to staff the demand. High school friend Joel Baardseth saw what Bill was doing through Facebook, so he offered a hand, having been experienced in the production side himself. "It was intriguing," he said. "There's not just an eye because it's on a head. There's a purpose to it. ... It's a good message for youth artists: 'Look what you can do -- celebrate imagination.'" April's brother, Ryan Hurd, helped out with sales and now does the printing. Artistic Streetwear now has a display of Bobiam clothing in two Minneapolis area-based clothing stores. The company has sold about 700 items since opening. Bill says that success probably comes from people wanting to support Liam. "People want to encourage kids to follow a dream," he said. That's what Liam plans on doing. "I don't think about what I'm drawing," he said, running his pencil across a blank canvas. "I just draw." To see more of the La Crosse Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lacrossetribune.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, La Crosse Tribune, Wis. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]