ABOUT US... My name is Tyler Kjar and I have been making TOPSY TURBAN headwear and coverups for 15 years. Joan, my wife and I called it the TURBAN WITH A PRAYER. When Joan was diagnosed with breast cancer and lost her hair, I designed the original pattern, she selected the fabric, placed it on her head and felt good about herself. “Where did you get that hat?” lead us to make another and another. Joan braided each and every one and prayed that the person who wore it would be healed and live. Fifteen years later, TOPSY TURBAN is still making people happy. Once you enter the world of Cancer and learn to speak its language, a new world forms, we become ANGELS of sorts. We become fighters, poets, philosophers and begin to have a wider scope of life - its meaning, its hope, its pathos, and, suprisingly, its humor. Joan asked me to hand her the shampoo from the bottom of the shower, then said “Forget it, there’s more hair down there than on my head. Things change, but life goes on, and a positive attitude and feeling comfortable about oneself makes it easier to move on with your life. I send my best wishes to all who wear my Topsy Turbans. |
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Topsy Turban's Mission Statment “Most companies who offer head wear for cancer patients offer a sentimental, compassionate appeal for why they have opened a place for women to buy. They know their market quite well, as they have heard the needs in the treatment rooms -- the complaints about hair loss scaring their children, concerns about how to answer the door, how to go to work and face the public. Some women stick it our bravely, going bald, others try expensive wigs, then throw them away as they generate heat. Chemo creates heat and the top of the head is where it is released. Under elastic and nylon hair, the temperature probably exceeds 100 degrees at any given time. Sunshine absorbs heat on wigs making it hot, hot, hot! The secret is soft cotton - all the way around. When sleeping, they need a soft cap so husband and children during sleeping hours don't cry at the sight of the hairless person in the hallway. And they need designs that make them feel normal. I design as I have in past, for the specific needs. Doctors can't cure cancer and understanding what chemo patients are going through, though helpful, is not enough. Topsy Turban is helping women in need to keep up with fashion the same way they did before they lost their hair. They don't have to give up looking good during a difficult time. Topsy Turban specializes in design of headcovers, coverups and other designs for women to look good and feel good about themselves, no matter what they are experiencing. Topsy Turban is a fashion house, designing and manufacturing for the head. I provide an honest, useful product and take great pride in having it made in the United States. My background both as the husband of a cancer patient as well as a clothing designer gives me a unique perspective on the problems and solutions of head wear for hair loss. During my hippy years I enjoyed making hand laced bags for men and women. This finally lead to leather and a circle bag with a front pocket and a slip handle which I called the American Dream Bag. Soon with the help of agents in the Los Angeles garment district, I sold my design to Robinsons, Macys etc. Women’s Wear Daily covered my design which years latter became the back pack. I went on the Dinah Shore show and was introduced to the American public by Lucille Ball. Coach and other firms soon learned to appreciate my designs and used them in their new lines, so I decided to become a Hollywood talent agent. While at my desk I accepted calls from wardrobe designers in films and made special hand bags and luggage for film and TV. I learned so much about what women undergoing chemo are going through from my own experience with my wife, Joanie, when she lost her hair . In the treatment rooms with her, I listened to nurses, doctors, patients and husbands, thus Topsy Turban was born. I solved a problem by designing hats from the forehead up. Most hats for women are designed to sit on top of a headful of hair. When that's gone, only a hammer and nails could keep a headcover from flying off, unless we use elastic, thus we learn to use elastic and one size doesn’t fit all unless carefully designed around fabrics that stretch. Cotton is the fabric of choice because it absorbs moisture, is cool, soft and comes in pretty colors. Feminine needs don't lessen when choosing hair replacements. There is no simple solution to the problem unless you are aware of what you are looking for...... so, attractive stylish, comfortable, washable, and of course, priced reasonably. Yes, you can find beautiful designer scarves, but they are often silk and usually expensive and they don't stay on top of your head without hairpins or nails. Fitted designer scarves in attractive fabrics are not found anywhere in the world except at Topsy Turban. Many scarves, the kind women wear around the house and shopping are small, cheap and cheap looking. Our scarves are generously cut, pretty and easy to clean, priced well and not available in ordinary stores. Larger scarves are always expensive. and manufacturers are used to an ever changing market, and competition that insists that they create something new every 6 weeks in the belief that the regular public wants constant change and “new” looks. Our market is grateful, and the needs are always the same, a cover up disguise, a cover up to hide behind. I have learned that fabric is key, design is key and getting it sewn and shipped as quickly as possible is crucial. Topsy Turban is also designing smocks with velcro closures and big pockets that slip easily over compression outfits after mastectomy operations. We will soon be carrying a large selection of sunglasses, wigs, ear rings and meditation music -- quiet music for when healing needs an oasis.”
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