Harmony in Creations: Tyla and Lacy Tessier

If ever there was a team of artists working in harmony, it would be the team behind Valiant Bob: Tyla and Lacy Tessier. Moving to Toronto a few years ago, they decided to start their own clothing line. Tyla has been sewing since she was a teenager. She learned the art from her mother and from lessons learned at home, she expanded on her thirst to learn more about putting pieces of cloth together to make dresses from designs she had come up on her own.

On her way to becoming a home-taught fashion designer, she met Lacy, her husband and her best friend. Lacy went to school for graphic designing and ended up supplementing it with fashion designing. Hence, the two came together to produce a clothing line unique in itself.

"Our line consists of hand-picked, vintage, repurposed and organic," says Lacy, proud of the fact that they have broken away from mainstream fashion designing and are carving their own niche.

Tyla repurposes vintage clothes and uses designs that were once popular to come up with designs and cuts that strike a chord with fashion lovers in the current day.

"All I need to do is touch the cloth, and I can tell how good the quality of the cloth is. I don't like choosing anything that may be too flimsy or too thick to work with. It has to be just the right amount of cotton," said Tyla.

The prints Tyla chooses have a flavour of spring cheerfulness in them. The current line of dresses includes floral prints in bright and attractive colours.

"I always choose the dress I would choose for myself. I would never choose anything I would refuse to wear myself," said Tyla, her smile radiating a genuine warmth.

They have also recently introduced shoes under their label and are thinking of including a whole new winter line as well.

"We're not about making big bucks. We're trying to make a difference in the industry. Tyla and I agree on this wholeheartedly; we are trying our best to repurpose as much as possible and to use organic cotton so we can reduce our carbon print," explained Lacy.

Organic cotton is produced on farms that specialize in using environment-friendly methods of farming. The fertilizer used on on these farms is organic as well, and the workers are paid a fair wage. Tyla and Lacy purchase organic cotton from Australia and have recently made contact with a supplier in Ontario who re-distributes organic cotton received from all over the world.

Their modest home studio houses three industrial-size machines and one domestic sewing machine. Tyla prefers working on her domestic sewing machine, but she is equally capable of handling the industrial-size machines as well. Like an expert, Lacy puts the finishing touches on the clothes. Using the serger to cut and finish edges, and the hemming machine to give a clean finished look to the piece.

Tyla and Lacy are proficient and dexterous with their designing. Taking an old piece of clothing from an entirely different era, cutting and re-designing it to produce current-day trendy clothes is not everyone's cup of tea.

Tyla Tessier

Lacy Tessier

The secret to their success: harmony. The energy between Tyla and Lacy flows serenely. They confer and concur with ease and impressive gentility. It is this very harmony present between them that flows into their creations and makes the clothes elegant, charming, and glamourous.

Leap of Faith: Scotch/Rye on Canadian Soil.

Tired of living the nine-to-five routine, Stephanie Ward broke the cliché and escaped from the mould that bound her. She closed a window of “opportunity,” and an entire world of fortuity appeared in front of her! Stephanie was born in the UK and lived there until 2010. When she moved to Toronto, all she had was her creativity and a strict determination to make use of it. She now runs her own business, Scotch/Rye, breaking the mould every day as she creates remarkable pieces of arts and crafts converting what used to be into what is a fashion statement.  

“I've always been a fairly creative person. My great grandmother would travel for hours on the bus back in the early 1950s to Edinburgh airport with a suitcase full of handmade brooches and little dolls.”

Typewriter Rings

To be able to see everyday items in a way no one else can, is a sign of true genius. We may throw out something that is broken and seems to be useless. But enter Stephanie’s world, and it finds a whole new meaning. Imagine putting on rainbow-coloured glasses and seeing everything in the brilliance of innovation; that is how Stephanie sees the world.

“I really like the idea of up cycling and reusing forgotten pieces. Not only does it give a discarded item a new lease on life, but it also means I can keep the costs of my products quite low for my customers.” 

Magnets, Rings, Cuff Links

Stephanie’s art doesn’t involve desecrating items in order to find material she can process. On the contrary, it is the exact opposite of that. She saves items that have value but may have gone out of fashion or have been forgotten because we have become bored of them. She has used old scrabble tiles, pieces of marble, typewriter keys, mason jars, and cuff links. With your first look at the items on display, the extraordinary in the ordinary preludes the awe that follows. 

“Being in the Arts Market has been great. All those who attended wanted to talk to me about something I had made, which felt truly gratifying. I earned millions in the benevolence of swell Canadian folks!”

Miniature Teacups

It forces you to wonder out loud, “Well, why didn’t I think of that!” The answer simply is, because you are not the artful-brimming mind of Stephanie from Scotch/Rye.