Beckley, W.Va. (WVDN) – Mountain State native Taylor Carnell, the new PATTERN Operations Manager for the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, is coming home and bringing valuable textile industry expertise from Colorado outdoor clothing maker Melanzana Mountain Gear, Inc.
Judy Moore, executive director of the WV Hive and deputy director of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA), said, “We cannot believe our good fortune in connecting with Taylor for this pivotal position at PATTERN, a new priority economic development engine for the New River Gorge region. PATTERN will support assets within the region’s rural and coal-impacted communities, including talented and resourceful entrepreneurs, university faculty and students, skilled workforce, industry heritage, natural and cultural resources, and more, to advance the textile manufacturing sector.”
PATTERN (Planning and Accelerating Textile Technology and Entrepreneurship Regional Network) represents a collaborative, regional approach to accelerating the outdoor and manufacturing industry within the New River Gorge. The success of this project will be measured by quantifying new job creation, new capital investment, new businesses created, technical assistance deployed, and an increase in locally made products.
A champion of this initiative, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, was on hand November 7, 2024, when the WV Hive and NRGRDA announced the new PATTERN textile training and manufacturing facility at 412 City Avenue in Beckley.
Carnell, a native of Charleston, W.Va., spent the past seven years at Melanzana gaining hands-on experience as a sewing trainer, team captain, and interim manager. She has been sewing for 25 years; initially inspired by her Granny. While in Colorado, Carnell was enjoying outdoor recreation opportunities as an instructor of snow and skateboarding.
One of the compelling letters of recommendation Carnell secured in applying for the PATTERN position was from the production manager at Melanzana. The letter stated: “Throughout her time at Melanzana, she has consistently been one of our top performing sewers, recognized for her exceptional speed and quality of work. She’s also gained valuable sewing machine mechanics experience, learning how to fix and repair common issues. In the past year, Taylor has taken on many new responsibilities, playing a pivotal role in establishing our brand new 12,000 square foot cut and sew facility. She helped us interview, sew test, and hire 21 sewers. She also helped set up 50-plus new sewing machines, assisted with planning the production floor layout, and trained several new sewers at once. Her ability to problem solve, combined with her natural leadership qualities, make her an asset to any team.”
Carnell will work with NRGRDA and WV Hive leadership on a broad range of textile operations, hiring and infrastructure, and business development functions to stand up and grow PATTERN.
The bulk of Carnell’s responsibilities will be to:
- develop team structure and job descriptions and hire industrial sewers and staff based on machinery resources and project needs;
- support logistics and implementation for an industrial sewing certification program;
- build out and implement apprenticeship program
- support textile entrepreneurs through the prototyping process into commercialization;
- establish cut-and-sew and manage workroom flow by coordinating project needs, raw materials, timeline, turnaround, and capacity planning;
- communicate with clients on orders and product specifications;
- conduct business development and workforce opportunities; and
- support the development of textile educational programming.
Moore said the goal is to start operating the PATTERN facility this summer. She said NRGRDA and WV Hive staff have been working in tandem with established and successful textile organizations in West Virginia, North Carolina, and Michigan to prepare this initiative to develop and sustain a ready workforce, invest in manufacturing and entrepreneurship resources, and increase capacity for economic growth.
Learn more about the PATTERN project at https://nrgrda.org/pattern/.
