Opening the front door to Eleven Thirty, Mariel’s dog Cocoa hops out of a vintage wooden crate full of leather scraps and happily runs over. Macrame planters and cacti are strewn amongst the leather bags and accessories that self-taught designers Mariel and Alexa cut, sew and sell – all under the one roof of their Brockton Village shop. An open-concept workroom dominates the back of the space, with a large cutting table, bolts of leather tucked in the corner and of course, a sewing station.
Prior to opening the shop, Alexa Schoorl and Mariel Gonzalez both had separate leather bag lines. Mariel was outgrowing her studio, so she signed the lease and later met Alexa to share the space with. The plan, at first, was to sell their separate lines out of the shop but the two liked each other so much that they scrapped the idea within a week.
And since the space was the catalyst for this new, duo-led business, they opted to name the shop after the number on the door: 1130 College Street West.
