A crooked Windham business is receiving national attention this week as part of a contest by Yahoo.com that could grant a hefty amount of exposure.

Glen Halliday, 36, of Windham, runs Kids Crooked House with his cousin Jeff Leighton, 33, of Gray. The company builds wooden playhouses for kids with over-the-top themes and trademark off-kilter angles.

Halliday, a graphic designer on the side, said the business got started when he looked into buying a playhouse to encourage his kids to spend more time outside and to use their imaginations.

“I didn’t want a box I’d end up putting my lawnmower in,” said Halliday. He said he was disappointed by the dull selection of outdoor clubhouses and the outrageous prices. Unable to find anything to meet his standards, Halliday decided to try building one from the floorboards up and got the idea from a cartoon to use obtuse and acute angles.

“Seeing as I’m a designer by trade, I wanted to do something creative,” said Halliday. “And I tend to go overboard.”

“Every time we put one together, I just step back and think, ‘man, that’s cool,'” said Leighton. He said he wished he had a crooked playhouse when he was a kid.

Halliday said neighbors started asking where they could buy one, and pretty soon he and Leighton were running a workshop out of his garage.

It’s been almost a year, and Halliday said they have sold about 40 crooked houses all over the country. The production line has moved out of Halliday’s garage and into a workshop next to Windham Mill Works off Route 302 and have a small staff of about a dozen full-time and part-time workers.

Leighton, a full-time electrician, said the two have broken even so far with the money they have invested into the company. The crooked houses typically sell from between $1,400 and $2,700, depending on how many special features they entail.

The Web site, located at kidscrookedhouse.com, shows a wide variety of themes the crew has concocted for the houses. They include a fairy princess castle, an undead pirate ship, a backwoods still and an army bunker.

“We can customize the theme,” said Halliday. He said his company is very willing to craft a playhouse to suit the tastes of any kid.

Halliday said that modern children have their creativity spoon-fed to them by television and video games and could use a place to be active and use their imaginations.

“When we were kids, a cardboard box could be anything,” said Halliday. He said his kids, Bailey, Jacob and Madison, love their crooked house and get to exercise their brains and limbs with it.

Leighton also has a son, Sebastian, who is almost 3.

Yahoo contest

Kids Crooked House was picked as one of five finalists out of a pool of 9,000 small businesses for Yahoo.com’s “Ultimate Connection” contest. Web surfers can view a short video on each of the five businesses and vote on their favorite.

The winner will receive a $25,000 online marketing account with Yahoo.com, as well as mentoring from a high-level business executive, a Web site makeover, and a power lunch with Ivanka Trump, vice president of Real Estate Development and Acquisitions at the Trump Organization owned by her father Donald Trump.

This week, Gov. John Baldacci announced his support for Kids Crooked House.

“I voted for them, and encourage other Mainers to do the same,” said Baldacci. “Kids Crooked House playhouses spark children’s imagination and creativity, while encouraging outdoors exercise and interaction with peers. Please join me in supporting this quality Maine family business.”

Halliday said winning the contest would give his business a lot of growth and exposure. Voting began Thursday of last week and will end Sunday, June 24.

“I’d like to see us expand and employ half of Windham,” he said. He said his company was in first place at the beginning, but now it’s anyone’s game.

“Without the community support, we’re nothing,” said Halliday. He said his competition, which includes an online candy reseller from California and a Florida-based company that sells products for parents with young kids, have the advantage of larger communities of potential voters.

“We’re just local craftsman who stumbled upon something good,” said Halliday. “It’s an incredible opportunity for us.”

Crookedhouse1-3: From left: Glen Halliday, 36, of Windham, and his cousin Jeff Leighton, 33, of Gray, run Kids Crooked House. They sell customized playhouses for kids and say they need the help of the community to win enough votes for a contest with Yahoo.com to win a big advertising package.Crookedhouse1-3: From left: Glen Halliday, 36, of Windham, and his cousin Jeff Leighton, 33, of Gray, run Kids Crooked House. They sell customized playhouses for kids and say they need the help of the community to win enough votes for a contest with Yahoo.com to win a big advertising package.Crookedhouse1-3: From left: Glen Halliday, 36, of Windham, and his cousin Jeff Leighton, 33, of Gray, run Kids Crooked House. They sell customized playhouses for kids and say they need the help of the community to win enough votes for a contest with Yahoo.com to win a big advertising package.Crookedhouse4: Jeff Leighton, 33, of Gray, holds up a design for a castle-theme playhouse. The playhouse includes a knight’s shield, drawbridge, chains, arrow-slit windows and a crawling tube to a separate room.crookedhouse5: A rustic brewery theme crooked playhouse.