Image courtesy of Tara Ostrowski
Dual gender D.I.Y.
Tymbal of Philadelphia designs one-of-a-kind pieces for both ladies and gentlemen
By Alexandra Edwards
Published: January 9th, 2006 | 3:39pm
When it comes to the world of D.I.Y. fashion, boys usually get no love. Most designers create beautiful pieces for women, but leave male fashionistas out in the cold. Luckily for all the fashion-forward boys out there, there is one company looking out for them: Tymbal, the brainchild of Melissa Colosi and Ryan Kozar.
Tymbal creates one-of-a-kind looks for both sexes; for the guys, they print their original imagery on vintage sports coats and ties, and for the girls, they sew and print handbags, as well as printing on vintage skirts. "We've always wanted to design for both sexes," says Kozar. "When Tymbal started a few years ago, we were selling our wares locally in Philadelphia boutiques. We noticed that most of these places catered primarily to female shoppers and most of the items we were selling were for women. This caused us to place extra emphasis on creating unique items for men, to maintain a balance."
That sense of balance has caused their business to take off. Colosi and Kozar hooked up in 2001, originally to work on a project printing t-shirts for Kozar's band. They worked so well together that they decided to launch Tymbal. Since then, the response has been great. "People seem to really appreciate what we are trying to do," Kozar explains. "As of now, Tymbal is sold in 13 stores across America."
It's easy to see why Tymbal items have become so popular. The printed images settle perfectly into the existing designs of the vintage clothing. Images such as cruiser bikes and blooming roses repeat themselves on several pieces, but interact with the fabrics and styles differently each time. "We get [inspired by] our families and our city," Kozar tells me, speaking of Philadelphia, where the two use a renovated row house as Tymbal headquarters. "Our designs are based either on old family photos, original snapshots of our surroundings, or a combination of the two. We are also inspired by finding an amazing vintage garment, that we can add a piece of our history to and make it one of a kind."
With their business going strong, the future looks good for Tymbal, and for all the boys out there craving D.I.Y. fashion finds for themselves. "In the future we hope to build a larger studio to accommodate our growing business. We look forward to making our products more accessible and continuing to develop our designs and apply them in unusual ways."
Visit tymbalart.com to check out all the unusual designs, as well as information on where to find Tymbal in stores, or how to order online.
Issue #25
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