City Paper CP's annual Holiday Gift Guide 2007 Cover Story :: Green Party Every gift in this guide does minimal harm to the planet and the various creatures who call it home. Edited by Monica Weymouth Photos by Michael T. Regan

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Philadelphia Weekly The Fashion Issue Fall Guide 2007 A Stitch in Time Piecing together a homegrown look this Fall. by Philadelphia Weekly Editorial Staff

We look good. Not “we” as in PW—though alt-weekly types are known to be a fashionable bunch—but “we” as in Philly.
Our look as a city is singular, and says a lot about who we are: We take the lowest forms and elevate them to high art, and not just by pasting random shreds together with Elmer’s. It’s a fashion informed by hand-picked care and love, and fused into something uniquely Philadelphian.
Take the folks at Tymbal, who screenprint artsy photos and drawings onto vintage “boring” tie designs to create a handmade, one-of-a-kind hybrid.
Or the Godda Godda girls, who sequin, splatter and lamé their glam hoodies until they’re rockstar-ready.
And the endearingly oddball Suzie Morris, who chops and sews a David Lynchian stitch into everything she creates—from wool suits to one-legged stuffed animals.
We’re a DIY town. And proud of it.
And our indie-spirited fashionistas don’t stop at clothing and accessories. Philly is also home to ultra-hot trendsetters like Croatian-born makeup artist Nives Riddles, rising fashion photographer Kelly Turso and hair-styling phenom JoJo Clapson.
Our style wouldn’t fly just anywhere. But here it flies high. (Jeffrey Barg and Kate Kilpatrick)

Tymbal Ties
Gotta tie a noose around your neck to go to work each morning? Tymbal found a way to let you sit at your desk job while maintaining your indie cred. Husband-and-wife team Ryan Kozar and Melissa Colosi run Tymbal out of South Philly, where they hand-screenprint original photos and drawings onto vintage ties for a stylish city look. “It has an urban twist to it, but we like to mix in organic elements as well. It’s kind of a city vs. country combination,” says Colosi. “One tie is a photo of a building on 49th Street in West Philadelphia overlapped with some bonsai photos we took at the flower show. We really like the contrasting elements.” Colosi and Kozar, both University of the Arts grads, do the printing themselves, so all the ties are one-of-a-kind. (J.B.) Art Star, 1030 N. Second St., Unit 301. 215.238.1557; Mew Gallery, 906 Christian St. 215.625.2424; www.tymbalart.com

venuszine.com

Dual gender D.I.Y.
Tymbal of Philadelphia designs one-of-a-kind pieces
for both ladies and gentlemen

by Alexandra Edwards

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.

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"I found this awesome bicycle dress at Tymbal. It's a cute jersey cotton polo style dress with a silver metallic bicycle screened by hand. The perfect dark navy color to kick off the fall season in style and it's only available online. Get your kickstand up..."

To read more and check out this very cool blog that supports up and coming independent designers, click the link below.

indieobsession.com