Naomi and Natalie Kinnamon’s sewing skills are legendary in these parts.
The year was 2015. Opening night for Hopewell Valley Central High School’s production of Dracula was mere hours away. Then…disaster. As the cast began arriving for hair and makeup, nine costumes were discovered missing — stolen after-hours by a cape-loving thief.
The Kinnamon sisters, high school sophomores and fixtures at the design and sewing table (Dubbed the “stitch bitches” for school productions. There were shirts.), raided the costume closet with scissors in hand, shredding dresses for the zombie brides and recreating looks with scraps of fabric. By show time, the actors stalked on stage – fully and fashionably clothed.
“Even in high school our friends joked about us starting a fashion empire,” recalls Natalie, whose grandmother, mom and two aunts passed down their seamstress skills and creativity. “Naomi and I have always been into sewing and working as a team.”
Nobody’s joking now – in fact, their community is watching as the makings of that empire unfold.
Style, Function, and T1D
On August 31, 2024, Naomi and Natalie, 25, launched KINNAMON, a fashion brand that reflects their family-inspired vision (did we mention they made their senior prom gowns?), chic image and desire for inclusivity. The company’s social media feeds have been popping with the vivid story of KINNAMON’s debut collection of rompers, jumpsuits, and dresses in bold colors and bright fabrics (#twinnamon). Their e-commerce site selling directly to consumers, Kinnamonclothing.com, went live on August 31.
The identical twins – 2017 Hopewell Valley grads and residents of Brandon Farms who are known for their artistic flair and signature red hair – are selling modish, functional clothing designed primarily for people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D), with added appeal for fashionistas of all styles.
KINNAMON wants to “revolutionize” the fashion industry by catering to an underrepresented segment of the market. “Very few existing fashion brands understand the needs of people with T1D, especially when it comes to making room for insulin pumps and other medical devices,” says Naomi, who was diagnosed with T1D in the 6th grade. “We design clothing that is comfortable, discreet, and accommodating.” Unique elements include hidden pockets for insulin pumps and blood sugar snacks, and cutouts for injection sites. Each garment has two pockets with button holes for easy pump access.
The sisters expect their looks to catch the eye of a broader audience. “We are designing for all women who want functional pockets in their clothes,” adds Natalie, who studied graphic arts and advertising at Mercer County Community College and Virginia Tech, and designed KINNAMON’s elegant e-commerce site. “The pockets can comfortably conceal Naomi’s insulin pump, as well as my oversized cell phone. Our clothes are stylish, tasteful and designed with every woman, from 15 to 50, in mind.”
It’s all about realizing a vision for the high-caliber Kinnamon sisters, who have long dreamt of fashion greatness. It wasn’t until they were both attending Mercer County Community College after high school that Naomi, a liberal arts major, began to think seriously about turning her sewing talents into a career. She pursued a fashion degree at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia, where she developed “Type 1 of a Kind,” her senior collection of evening wear with accommodations for type 1 diabetics. Her story was featured on a local TV station. Soon after, Naomi met with a SCORE volunteer to discuss start-up strategies and has been building the business ever since.
The sisters reunited back in Brandon Farms after college, joining forces to put their elevated design and marketing skills toward creating the KINNAMON brand.
It hasn’t always been easy. While Naomi used fabrics from the local JOANN’s and scraps from past projects to drape, pattern and experiment in the initial design phase, securing suppliers and manufacturers for a scalable business proved challenging. She resorted to going door-to-door in New York City’s garment district, list of reputable factories in-hand. This kind of commitment, along with valuable connections, helped the business progress.
‘Super Cool Individuals’
This summer Naomi and Natalie – and older brother Jesse, who is their videographer — have traveled regularly from Pennington to New York City to meet with their manufacturer, hit the studio, hire makeup artists, and manage editorial shoots for their debut collection. Several of their fashion models also have T1D.
Photographer Gigi Jackson, owner of LENS OF HER, has been capturing the KINNAMON story. Her experience shooting brands and showcasing entrepreneurs led her to work with the Kinnamon twins.
“Once Natalie told me about their story, their brand, the ‘why,’ I knew I wanted to work with them,” says Jackson, who has a background in filmmaking. “I love fashion shoots. I do them faithfully for fun. What stood out to me was that they have a specific person they are targeting. We want to have a business to make money, but we also want to connect with people. KINNAMON automatically does that. It’s bigger than a business; it’s a purpose.”
Since spending time behind the lens shooting the KINNAMON brand, Jackson is convinced of one thing: these designers demand attention. “A favorite moment for me was when I did a personal branding shoot with just Natalie and Naomi,” she notes. “The connection we had was so genuine; it was a fun, blissful moment. They should keep holding on to their personal brand as much as their business brand. If they do, they will grow fast and go far. They are super cool individuals.” Oh, and she has her eye on that KINNAMON lavender dress.
Anyone who has watched the TV show Shark Tank understands how intimately intertwined brands are with the entrepreneurs behind them. Backers are investing in the people as much as the idea. Supporters agree that Naomi and Natalie are laced into the fabric of their business in more ways than just their name – they have style, determination and a devotion to family and community that have served as sources of inspiration for KINNAMON.
This sentiment gathered strength when they ran a successful GoFundMe campaign in February 2024 to help cover initial start-up costs, raising some $31,762.
“When they commit to something, they are all in. That attitude is helping to feed the rollout of their fashion brand,” observes Mark Dolan, a public school teacher in Pennsylvania and Director of Music at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Pennington. Dolan has directed both Natalie, Naomi, and their mom Janice in the adult and bell choirs at St. Matthew’s, where the Kinnamons have attended with their family since they were born. Dad J.C. Kinnamon currently serves as the church’s Jr. Warden. Both parents have been watching the evolution of KINNAMON with awe and wonder.
“Naomi and Natalie are great examples of what happens when talent and hard work meet,” adds Dolan, who enlisted Naomi a few years back as the costumer for his middle school’s production of Newsies – with stunning results. “It is becoming harder to engage talented volunteers in a church music program. The Kinnamons and their talents prove otherwise. They are bringing this passion to their brand. Science addresses how people manage diabetes, and artists address living with it and having a full life. I believe in their idea and in them.”
Dolan, who has lived in Mercer County since 1994, hopes that the community also plays a role in their success. “We all have an opportunity to get behind this and to watch it grow.”
Building an Independent Brand
Designer Johnathan Hayden, creative director of a namesake brand of luxury ready-to-wear and evening wear based in the New York City garment district, is also watching the KINNAMON entrance with interest. Naomi interned with Hayden, a 2015 SCAD graduate, in the summer of 2022. He has supported KINNAMON in recent months, connecting Naomi with his fabric supplier when she was having trouble sourcing materials.
Hayden admits that the fiercely competitive fashion industry can be tough for small, independent businesses. As a member of the governing board of the New York Fashion Workers Coalition, he sees opportunities for small brands to grow through empowering domestic, localized manufacturing, and smarter fashion-education programs that expose students to more aspects of the industry, including start-up design shops.
Hayden believes his internship opened Naomi’s eyes to some of those realities. “It’s not glamorous when you are going the independent route,” he says. “It is very gritty and a lot of hard work.”
He sees KINNAMON’s T1D focus as essential to the brand identity, even while some industry players may have other priorities. “Those kinds of details do help garments sell to the customer,” notes Hayden. “But the reality is that the buyers [at big retailers] think completely differently about this conversation around clothes. They’re thinking: how do they sell it? How do they merchandise or how does it look on the floor? What are the adjacencies with other brands? And, of course, how much money can they make off of it?”
Initially, KINNAMON is selling directly to consumers, where its niche could prove to be a powerful differentiator. Hayden is hopeful. “Naomi and Natalie have that twin energy they can play with to market their brand,” he observes. ”They’re thinking about it in the right way. And given that one sister is into fashion design and the other is a graphic designer, the power of two is always better.” He points to the example of successful identical twin designers Bruce and Glen Proctor who run the luxury brand BruceGlen out of Los Angeles.
Catching Fire
Meanwhile, back at KINNAMON central in Pennington, Naomi and Natalie are bursting with the vibrance of it all – and embracing the hustle and flow of fashion entrepreneurship as they release their first-ever collection. And yes, they are celebrating their twinness, choosing to often dress alike these days, which results in some dazzling social media posts. Social media platforms, they stress, are essential to sharing the unique and colorful story of their brand.
“These last few weeks have been exactly what we’ve planned for as we near the culmination of three years of hard work. And it is still only the beginning,” says Naomi, who has become a true believer in the power of connections and the willingness of so many to champion the KINNAMON vision. “Natalie and I have been in constant motion since we started, gaining momentum with every step. Our mom has asked if we ever feel daunted by the responsibility of managing every aspect – building from the ground up, ensuring it all goes according to plan, and timing things just right. But for me, there’s a natural order that emerges in the process. I’ve always felt hopeful, strengthened by having a partner at my side.”
“We just keep checking things off our massive to-do list, and when we complete one task, we think of 10 more,” adds Natalie, who is especially proud of the user-friendly and “empowering” website she created, and can’t wait for that first order. “We are experiencing a lot of firsts by starting our company and are bound to make some missteps. We are comfortable with learning from our mistakes and progressing forward.”
Both Naomi and Natalie (N&N to friends and family) are most excited about their company’s mission. Perhaps KINNAMON will break new ground with those profit-driven retail buyers?
“T1D is a lifelong disease, so we hope to grow with our brand and meet all the needs of customers young and old,” says Naomi. KINNAMON intends to donate a portion of its profits to Breakthrough T1D, a leading diabetes research organization. “We want to build a company that inspires other people to design for disabilities in the mainstream market, like feeding tubes, scars, double mastectomies, arthritis, and more. We want to spread the message of fashion inclusivity.”
To find out more, visit https://kinnamonclothing.com.
