Brothers mold smiles and charity sales in Montrose

Photo Gallery: Two young brothers create "Smiles in a Box" to raise money for charities

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Brothers Vem, 10, and Noy Chatoyan, 12, holding smiles that they make and sell as “Smiles in a Box” for charity in Montrose on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. The brothers came up with the idea after playing with clay and giving some of the smiley cubes to friends who really liked them. They sell them for $2 each and donate half of the money to charity. The other half goes into supplies to make more smiles. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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The hands of brothers Vem and Noy Chatoyan, 10 and 12, holding smiles that they make and sell as “Smiles in a Box” for charity in Montrose on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. The brothers came up with the idea after playing with clay and giving some of the smiley cubes to friends who really liked them. They sell them for $2 each and donate half of the money to charity. The other half goes into supplies to make more smiles. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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A collection of brightly colored smiles on a display created by brothers Noy, 12, and Vem Chatoyan, 10, that they sell as “Smiles in a Box” in Montrose on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. The brothers came up with the idea after playing with clay and giving some of the smiley cubes to friends who really liked them. They sell them for $2 each and donate half of the money to charity. The other half goes into supplies to make more smiles. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Brothers Noy, 12, and Vem Chatoyan, 10, roll a display they made for selling their “Smiles in a Box” to the doorway of their mothers cloting store in Montrose on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. The brothers came up with the idea after playing with clay and giving some of the smiley cubes to friends who really liked them. They sell them for $2 each and donate half of the money to charity. The other half goes into supplies to make more smiles. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Brothers Vem, 10, and Noy Chatoyan, 12, in the door of their mom’s store in Montrose on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. The brothers came up with the idea “Smiles in a Box” after playing with clay and giving some of the smiley cubes to friends who really liked them. They sell them for $2 each and donate half of the money to charity. The other half goes into supplies to make more smiles. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

By Kelly Corrigan, <i><a href=”mailto:kelly.corrigan@latimes.com”>kelly.corrigan@latimes.com</a></i>

July 14, 2015 5:17 PM PT

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One day last year, two brothers, ages 12 and 10, were playing with blocks of clay when they made one block appear as if it were smiling. The simple creation has since raised hundreds of dollars for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Noy and Vem Chatoyan have sold more than 800 smiling clay blocks for $2 each, donating half of the proceeds to various charities.

Their parents, Maral and Sebu Chatoyan, own the Clothing Market in Montrose, a shop where the boys first began selling the clay blocks on the sidewalk facing Honolulu Avenue.

Maral Chatoyan is a clothing designer and, with her husband, she helps operate a clothing manufacturing business, and said her two boys have been exposed to colorful fabric since a young age.

Noy and Vem have also grown to be creative in other ways. In his spare time, Noy creates charcoal drawings and Vem sketches cartoons.

When they create their clay smiles, they use a stamp to make an imprint of a pair of eyes and a smile into a small piece of clay that they spray-paint and lacquer. Then they place the final product in a cardboard box.

They can sometimes be spotted outside their parents’ shop, where people passing by have discovered the smiles and purchased them for themselves or loved ones.

“There was this one guy, he specifically said, ‘You guys are making really a good change in the world,’” Vem recalled.

Last Christmas, proceeds from the sales resulted in the boys donating $500 to St. Jude.

When Noy’s teacher at Armenian Sisters’ Academy in Montrose heard about them, he purchased hundreds of them to use as favors at his wedding.

That sale resulted in $300 going to support the brain tumor neurosurgery program at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where their teacher’s wife works as an oncologist, Noy said.

The brothers also have a website, smilesinabox.com, and run their own Facebook page of the same name.

“We have this saying,” Noy added. “One smile can change a person, a few smiles can change people, and if everyone smiles, it can change the world.”