FoundHer Story with Catherine Carnevale | ELEVEN SIX
A conversation with the co-founder and creative director of ELEVEN SIX, the Kingston, NY knitwear brand carried at The Huntress in Pound Ridge.
Brand: ELEVEN SIX
Based in: Studio and showroom in the Fuller Building, Kingston, NY
Shop: eleven-six.co
Instagram: @eleven.six
Fun fact: The brand name combines Catherine's birthday written the UK way, June 11 ("Eleven June"), with her son Oliver's due date written the US way, November 6. The name came to her the same night she had the epiphany to create the brand in Peru.
Catherine Carnevale trained in knitwear at Central Saint Martins and Brighton University, then spent fifteen years in New York designing for Calvin Klein, Anne Klein, and Club Monaco. Today she runs ELEVEN SIX from the historic Fuller Building in Kingston, creating hand-knit alpaca and cotton pieces with family-owned partners and artisan communities in Peru. Refined yet relaxed, cozy and chic, each piece is made in limited quantities and wrapped by hand with a personal note.
We talked with Catherine about a life-changing hike, the language of color, and why she calls the artisans the heartbeat of her brand.
What inspired you to start ELEVEN SIX?
I studied knitwear at Central Saint Martins and Brighton University in the UK, then came to New York in 2002, where I spent 15 years designing for Calvin Klein, Anne Klein, and Club Monaco. In 2014, pregnant with our first child, I traveled to Peru with my husband, Nick. Hiking through the Sacred Valley and looking out at the Andes, I had an epiphany: I wanted my own knitwear brand. I wanted to work directly with talented artisans, source beautiful materials at origin, and know exactly where my work was going.
We registered ELEVEN SIX when we got home and launched our first collection during Fall 2015 Fashion Week.
How would you describe the ELEVEN SIX woman?
She's a modern woman who needs a versatile wardrobe for work, travel, and play. More than anything, I want her to feel special, confident, and seen when she wears ELEVEN SIX.
What influences your aesthetic point of view?
Travel is a huge inspiration, especially Europe, where we have family in the UK, Italy, and France. I'm also inspired by lifestyle, film, and art, particularly for color. Sonia Rykiel, the "Queen of Knitwear," pioneered monochromatic knit dressing in the '70s, and my late mother often dressed head-to-toe in tonal color, so that idea is personal to me.
Our silhouettes are simple. It's really about the knit texture, with a little '70s-meets-'90s styling.
What does your creative process look like?
Each collection takes about ten months, from concept to a finished collection ready to ship. I begin with inspiration and a color palette, experiment with new knitting techniques and textures, then translate those into garment designs. For Fall, our yearly artist collaboration often becomes the roadmap for the season's palette.
A collection needs many components: a range of price points, easy-to-wear essentials, newness and novelty, and a few hero pieces, which are usually the most expensive. Years of experience have taught me to build all of those in naturally as I design the range.
What goes into making an ELEVEN SIX piece?
Knitwear is like creating a recipe. You build the fabric from scratch, choosing the yarn, weight, gauge, texture, and pattern, then design the garment around how that fabric will drape and fit. I create detailed tech packs with measurements and diagrams, which are translated into Spanish for the artisans, who make the prototypes and samples.
Once the collection sells to buyers at the New York Fashion Week market, we produce to order and for our own brand stock. Yarn sourcing and handwork alone take three to four months. Finished pieces ship from our home base in Kingston, where we hand-wrap every order and include a personal note to each customer.
Tell us about your relationship with natural fibers.
Alpaca is our yarn of choice. It's the yarn of the Andes and an incredibly sustainable fiber. It's breathable, hypoallergenic, and exceptionally warm, and also cooling, which suits an animal that endures both freezing cold and intense heat. It rivals cashmere for softness at a more accessible price, which lets me explore novelty hand-knitting techniques that would be hard to do affordably in cashmere.
Alpacas are shorn once a year for their health. For Fall, Winter, and Holiday, we use air-spun alpaca blends from two established Peruvian suppliers, with certification and transparency about origin and process. I source in Peru whenever possible to support the local supply chain and stay close to where our materials come from.
For Spring/Summer, we work in Peruvian cotton, which has a more resort feel and has become as popular as our cozy fall knits. Each season has a different point of view but the same DNA.
How has the current fashion landscape affected your business?
It's a constant journey of peaks and valleys. COVID was wild, but we survived, and we're 12 years young! Tariffs have been a huge hit to our bottom line and a hard one to carry as a small business. Material and labor costs have also risen, but we've worked hard to keep our prices fair and avoid raising them too much.
We no longer work with large department stores like Neiman Marcus. Their businesses have changed and are facing their own challenges. That has reduced our wholesale business, but it has allowed us to focus on meaningful relationships with specialty stores. We also lean into handwork as our point of difference, since it's much harder for fast fashion to replicate. As a small business owner, you're forever climbing a steep rock face!
What would you want someone to understand beyond the clothing?
The artisans are the heartbeat of the brand. I work with three second-generation, family-owned Peruvian partners who collaborate with artisan communities, each with its own specialty, such as hand knitting or crochet. I started ELEVEN SIX partly to build a business around my family. Many of the women artisans have that same flexibility, taking work home and earning an income in what is still a male-dominated system. It's a family and community affair.
What is your favorite part of running ELEVEN SIX?
Meeting customers directly, especially at trunk shows, where someone can meet the founder and discover the brand. I love being able to serve someone and make them feel special while sharing our story and the fact that our knitwear is made with love by artisans.
Tell us about the ELEVEN SIX WOMEN series.
ELEVEN SIX WOMEN is a monthly blog series featuring a diversity of women who inspire us through who they are and what they do. It's a way to cross-pollinate worlds and see the collection come to life through each woman's personal style. These features touch so many people, and they're truly inspiring and fulfilling for me.
Tell us about your collaboration with Caroline Burdett.
Caroline is a Woodstock-based artist, and this Fall marks our second collaboration. I love her abstract landscapes and her use of color. Translating an artist's work into knitwear is almost like color-by-number, but the result becomes wearable art.
What is your WHY?
Making women feel special, confident, and seen when they wear ELEVEN SIX, while honoring the artisans who make each piece.
Made with intention
Our pieces are handmade in Peru with three family-owned partners, mainly on the outskirts of Lima and in Puno. They work with networks of artisans in different communities. Often the women run the workshops and do the hand knitting, while the men operate the hand-flat machines. Each piece is made with love, in limited quantities, to my design and technical specifications. Most importantly, we know where our work is going.
Catherine's Favorites
Lyla Hand-Knit Sweater in Ivory. I'm obsessed with hand-knit textured stitches and fringe, and this style does it all. I love styling it with our Pia tube skirt in ivory for a cozy monochrome look. Shop Lyla
Charlie Cardi. The Charlie is a color-therapy cardigan and a roadmap to our collection's palette. It feels joyful and cozy to wear. I style it with the Lea pleat skirt or my favorite ecru wide-leg jeans. Shop Charlie
Sara Cardi. An iconic essential in the collection, the Sara takes on a different personality depending on the color. We always offer it in neutrals, then in the season's focal colors. I always love a bright color and this season I'm wearing the Tangerine on repeat, styled with a leather pencil skirt or ecru wide-leg jeans. Shop Sara
A personal add-on: Ali Rib Sock. These are the warmest alpaca-blend socks, and I live in them through the colder seasons. Shop Ali
The woman behind ELEVEN SIX
What have you learned as a woman founder, and what advice would you give?
I practice being G.A.L.D.O. (Generous, Authentic, Loving, Direct, and Open) in my business and personal life. I also try to live with daily gratitude so I can practice the three P's: Perspective, Patience, and Positivity.
If you're starting a brand, get experience in the field before going out on your own. Talk to as many people in person as you can. Be curious and network. Your business concept needs to be clear, focused, and authentic, and you need to understand exactly who your audience is.
How do you navigate work and life?
I built ELEVEN SIX to work around my family and our two children. My rich life isn't my bank account. It's the quality of life I have living upstate in nature and being present for the important things.
What has influenced you?
Books: I love inspiring ones, like Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic.
Podcasts: How to Fail with Elizabeth Day and Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud.
Art: I tend to love colorists. I just saw the Krasner and Pollock exhibition at The Met. I also love Helen Frankenthaler and, of course, my collaboration artist, Caroline Burdett.
Designers: Sonia Rykiel, for pioneering monochromatic knit dressing in the '70s, and Stella McCartney, for leading the way in sustainable luxury for so many years in a chic yet playful way.
What places inspire you?
The Catskills are my daily inspiration. I'm also always inspired by travel, particularly in Europe, where we have family in Italy, France, and the UK. Peru is central to the brand, and it's a spiritual place for me.
One last question: what do you hope people remember?
I hope they remember quality, special knitwear made with love and integrity, the kind that feels like a sweater hug to wear: refined yet relaxed, cozy and chic. As for me, I hope they see that I truly love the work I do, and that I'm deeply grateful to every customer who discovers ELEVEN SIX and chooses to honor and support the brand.
Shop ELEVEN SIX
Online: eleven-six.co
Showroom: In the lobby of the historic Fuller Building, Kingston, NY, by appointment. Virtual appointments are also available.
Retailers: Specialty retailers across North America, including The Huntress in Pound Ridge, NY, as well as Clic, St. Bernard, and Ravenwood
Upcoming events:
Fine Day Fair, Bedford, NY, November 7–8
Field + Supply Holiday, NYC, December 5–6
The Fuller Holiday Market, Kingston, NY, December 12–13 (curated and organized by Catherine)
See the Fall/Holiday events page on the ELEVEN SIX site for the full list
A Letter from The Editor,
Valerie Jana and Locals Closet
I found Catherine at her set-up at the Fine Day Fair, at Onatru Farm in South Salem, New York. This is one of the towns in my school district where we always gather for Fourth of July Fireworks. I always knew I grew up in a special place, but this was my first time hearing about Fine Day Fair since so many friends and Designers were sharing their “Save the Date” posts around social media.
In fashionably late style, I went an hour or so until closing. It’s a two day event, but on the weekends I like to dedicate one to markets, and the other to recovering and organizing for the week ahead. So I had an hour to wander the aisles of Designers, jewelry brands, familiar faces like KC from Krop Denim as well as getting to meet one of our Locals Closet event sponsor’s for our giveaway bags, Harri, Founder or Our Neighbor’s face-to-face.
At the end of the market, one of the later booths in the maze of commerce, I found Catherine’s beautiful collection, full of life. Woven sweaters, bright colors, crochet work, a balance of white and bold hues, a tall mirror, and her smiling face. I was instantly pulled in.
Catherine and I kept in touch. We ran into each other again at NAMAI Studio’s brick-and-mortar store opening in Rhinebeck, NY. We had a meeting scheduled for that week and instantly clicked from there. I knew her brand is not only such a gem, but is the perfect representation of Locals Closet curation for F/W 26 in a store by me at The Huntress in Pound Ridge, NY that I’ve been partnering with for the past year testing new grounds and new markets for small, emerging and women-owned Designers and brands.
I look forward to seeing the success of ELEVEN SIX in Pound Ridge and at other upcoming events in collaboration with the educational-driven, sustainable fashion, and event-filled brand of Locals Closet. Our whole manifesto is to Step Into Your Power of Infinite Potential. It’s a little woo, woo, but I truly believe the more opportunities we can dress as our “Higher Selves,” and when real people in our day-to-day lives are wearing brands that they support, feel good wearing, and are good for the planet, we can create community closets full of our values, impact and of course beautiful design.
Thank you for reading, please follow @Locals_Closet on Instagram and subscribe to our newsletters on Locals-World.com and read more of our FoundHer stories there, @localsworldmag.
Cheers!
Valerie
