Catherine Carnevale, founder of Eleven Six in Kingston, says a perfect day includes fulfilling orders for her luxury collection of super soft Peruvian alpaca yarn and cotton sweaters, cardigans, and dresses, advising the artisans who bring her vision to life, and writing thank you notes to her customers—all from her airy space in the Fuller Building, a converted shirt factory in Kingston.
“There’s so much product in the world so it’s really important for us to write handwritten thank yous,” says Carnevale, who launched Eleven Six, named for her birth date in the European style and her son’s due date. “We want to always give that personal touch and thank our customers for supporting a small business.”
Carnevale, who spent her earlier career as a knitwear designer for such brands as Calvin Klein and Club Monaco, was struck with the idea of creating her own company while she was on a hike with her husband Nick, in Peru. She was also three months pregnant. “I had an epiphany that it was time to make this life change,” she says. As soon as the couple returned to the U.S., they registered the company and, within one year, launched their first fall collection.
For the knitwear collections she designs, Carnevale sources alpaca and cotton yarns from a pair of sustainable alpaca suppliers in Peru. Carnevale designs the pieces and creates instruction packets that are sent to three small, family-owned businesses that work with networks of workshops and creators outside of Lima. Each Eleven Six piece is adorned with a hang tag denoting the maker’s signature and an edition number, showcasing the hours devoted to crafting every unique knit.
Carnevale has also been committed to supporting women from a wide variety of fields and asking them to model pieces from her collection—and share their lives in interviews that run on the Eleven Six website. “I reach out to women who inspire me and ask them to choose the looks they like,” she says, adding that she was thrilled to partner with award-winning journalist Deborah Roberts to do just that. “It becomes a beautiful collaboration.”
“Sweaters are wellness in some ways. I’ve always believed that if your outfit feels polished, refined, and relaxed, you’ll feel good in how you look.”
For Carnevale, who moved with Nick and their two children to Stone Ridge full-time eight years ago after weekending in the Hudson Valley, a love of fashion began as a child growing up in England. “I learned the art of knitting from my mother and grandmother,” says Carnevale, who studied textile design at the University of Brighton in England. “I was playing with pins at a young age, and I was always making things.”
Carnevale says she draws inspiration from Sonia Rykiel, a French designer dubbed the “Queen of Knits” by Women’s Wear Daily in 1972. “There’s a lot of mix or matching of pieces in my collection and many you can dress up or down depending on how you style it,” she says.
Locating Eleven Six in the Fuller Building was a deliberate choice, too. “There’s such a creative community here which is so wonderful,” says Carnevale, who also organizes the twice-a-year Fuller maker markets.
When Carnevale isn’t sketching designs, she spends as much time in nature as she can, whether that’s hiking in the Mohonk Preserve or skiing at Belleayre. “I try to carve out time outside,” she says. “Or, when Nick and I need to do a high-level check-in, we’ll take a hike and find fresh ways to approach the business.”
No matter where she is, Carnevale swears by the power of fashion to make women feel good about themselves. “Sweaters are wellness in some ways,” she says. “I’ve always believed that if your outfit feels polished, refined, and relaxed, you’ll feel good in how you look.”
