Ynop 3: For the Sake of a Horse

Anamyn Turowski’s manufacturing headquarters did little to break the low-key milieu of her Los Angeles neighborhood, near Universal Studios—until she announced her first retail store, Ynop 3, with a parade of miniature horses.

A trio of whinnying 36-inch-high horses invited a crowd of wellwishers and fashonistas to horseplay at the store’s Sept. 23 debut. Scores of kids pet the horses, supplied by Burbank, Calif.–based Flame’s Fabulous Ponies; musician Cody Bryant picked bluegrass tunes from his banjo; and a crowd of adults, including Turowski’s uncle, “Hill Street Blues” actor James Sikking, chowed down on Texas-style chili.

But the clothes Turowski manufactures are serious business. The designer said revenue from her company reached $1.2 million in 2003, and her labels regularly appear on the racks of Fred Segal Santa Monica and Fred Segal Melrose, Barneys New York and Planet Blue in Malibu, Calif.

When space opened in her building in February, she expanded her facility to 4,000 square feet and dedicated 600 square feet of that area to the retail store.

Turowski named the store Ynop 3 (“Pony” spelled backwards), and her equine obsession informs the look of the store. Yellowed drawings of horses line the boutique’s north wall and provide a backdrop to her Claudette offerings, the line she co-designs with Janine Milne.

Claudette mixes and matches vintage rock-concert T-shirts and college jerseys with cashmere V-neck blouses. The price points for these pieces range from $163 to $180.

The other side of the store is dedicated to Turowski’s children’s label, Claude, which she co-designs with Paula Scolaro. The line gives toddlers a head start on music geekdom with clothes reconstructed out of vintage rock-concert T-shirts ($42). Also available are $106 cashmere ponchos for little girls and $150 baby blankets.

Turowski also features her oneof- a-kind lines, Ynop and Ynnub, in the store, giving customers a full snapshot of her collections—and a glimpse of the designer herself.

“It seems like you’d hang some clothes and turn on the lights, but that’s not good enough,” she said. “The store is a reflection of who you are. It’s a work of art.” —A.A.