I love that Durham is attractive to artists and entrepreneurs from throughout the world, but as a native I have a soft spot in my heart for locally grown talent. Folks who can put a "born and raised" badge next to their Durham Love Yourself sticker. Cats who remember when Whole Foods was Wellspring and went to Bulls games at the DAP - these people have a different perspective than most other artists on the scene.

Gabriel Eng-Goetz, founder of the Durham-based company Runaway Clothing, is one of these artists. He is able to capture and represent the raw essence of Durham in a unique way because he is a product of Durham. He grew up and went to school here, earned his BFA in upstate New York at Syracuse University, then returned home to put in work at a screen-printing shop on Alston Avenue called Body Billboards.

I visited Gabe recently at his home in north Durham, where he lives with two roommates. I was immediately impressed by the abundance of beautiful art. His place looks like a mixed-media art gallery. I've only seen a few other North Carolina homes like it, most notably Maya Angelou's house in Winston-Salem, and "Bonnie's House," the guest quarters at the internationally renowned arts sanctuary Penland School of Crafts, in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

In the center of Gabe's living room stands a wooden coffee table, which doubles as shadowbox frame for a collage of vintage bass fishing magazines. A watercolor painting of an alligator playing a banjo in a North Carolina swamp hangs on the wall. One shelf displays a grisly sculpture of Winnie the Pooh, in the process of being devoured by a feral Tigger. Mr. Eng-Goetz is a man of many talents.

In the basement, between silver dumbbells, and a rusty bench press, Gabe keeps his weapon of choice - an aged screen printing machine, which looks like a six-headed panini maker on steroids. Her name is Bessy.

"Bessy has been with me for a year now," Eng-Goetz explains. "She's a turquoise, six-headed, six-station screen printing press that resides in my studio." She's a big girl, around 400 pounds, and Gabe has built his clothing company around her.

I was surprised to learn that the practice of screen printing dates back more than 1,000 years to ancient China. "It's the process of using woven mesh to support an ink blocking stencil. Pressing ink through the stencil into the fibers of the garment transfers your image and BAM! - a shirt has been blessed."

Gabe has been working tirelessly; baptizing T-shirts with holy ink from his home studio. Each shirt captures elements of Gabe's brand; bold style, sense of humor, and love for Durham.

One shirt lists several Durham neighborhoods within a butcher's diagram of the prime cuts on a bull's body. Another design features Durham's skyline, including the Durham Bulls billboard, Lucky Strike water tower and smokestack. Other designs draw from nature, employing sharks, wolves, snakes and octopi to convey the company mantra: "Run away from conformity." Runaway launched its debut collection this summer online at runawayclothes.com, with select designs available at Morgan Imports, next to Brightleaf Square.

But Gabe doesn't stop at traditional retail outlets. Always on the run, he collaborates with local musicians, engaging in a rich cultural exchange in Durham music and fashion (full disclosure: my band, The Beast, had its last show co-produced by Runaway Clothing). "I love working with musicians, artists and other creative minded people. One of Runaway's primary initiatives is to promote artists, especially those whose roots are imbedded in the state of North Carolina," he said. "It's all about putting each other on and our city."

Gabe has an incredible imagination, an eclectic affinity for the abstract and an unfaltering love for Durham. He is the love-child of Salvador Dali and Wool E. Bull. A glimpse at his website porkfriedart.com reveals as much; his portfolio includes a comic strip called "Heart of Durham," which features gun-toting assassins wearing panda masks. And Runaway Clothes is a fresh contributor to Durham's expanding creative economy.

As more artists, musicians and entrepreneurs flock to Durham, I will continue stay on the lookout for native Durhamites. They are gems within the broader movement.

"I am a product of Durham, N.C., and believe the city has the potential to explode artistically," says Gabe. "I just want to be a part of it."