Featured: Jackson & Connor

Tara Tetreault and Candice Connors, the duo powerhouse hailing from Northampton, Massachusetts, are the subject of our first feature on blog.thirtysevenwest.com.  We love what they’re doing, think they have a stunning product line at their store, Jackson & Connor, and we’re thrilled that we’ve had the opportunity to do work for them.  Part of the interest in interviewing Tetreault and Connors was also to showcase the success of two women who ventured out into a seemingly daunting project in early 2008 and are now becoming a household name in New England.

Interview with Tara Tetreault:

Beth: It’s a really neat story of how you both came to know each other, and eventually co-own the store.  What prompted you to venture into business together and leave your respective jobs?

Tara: It had always been a dream of ours to own a store separately.  It was nice to find Candice again while she was at Yale and I was a Rep. It sort of came together after I lost my job and couldn’t find another one. I decided to go for it but I did not want to do it alone and that’s when I began to hard sell Candice. Yale Genton was closing so it made sense for her to try something new with me.

B: How did working in New York change your perception of men’s wear and influence what you’ve done in Jackson & Connor?

T: It was great to have a view from the otherside of the biz. It was great to have the entire East Coast as my territory because it gave me a chance to see a lot of the speciality men’s apparel stores that are out there. It is so great to see how different each one is and their interpretations of men’s apparel.

B: Coming up on your two year anniversary of opening the store, what have been two of your best moments in business so far (victories, large or small)?

T: One of my best was winning an award called 40 under 40 put out by BusinessWest Publication in Springfield, MA. They choose from the areas under 40 population and pick 40 who are really moving and shaking out here. It was quite an honor to be chosen especially after only being open for less than a year.

If you google myself, Tara Tetreault or the store Jackson & Connor in Northampton, MA you can find some great goodies there…

Being a part of the community serving on boards and committees to make this a better place is a huge victory for ourselves and the town.

B: Since Northampton is a small town and you both had history there, did you feel more comfortable opening Jackson & Connor there, or more nervous considering you were essentially replacing Taylor Men?

T: Way more comfortable, this is my home and we had a good base from here to start a business.

B: You’ve outlined styling for a Jackson and a Connor, but what inspirations do you draw from to continue building on your styling choices for the men of Northampton and its visitors?

T: Nature, magazines, fashion blogs, the locals, the celebs.

B: What have you found to be your most valuable resource, other than customers, for creating a successful and happy business?

T: Being a part of the community.  Putting yourself  out there for people to get to know you.

B: What can we expect from Jackson & Connor in the next few years?

T: More greatness.  More selection.  Perhaps a different location.  Perhaps a shoe store.  Perhaps a women’s store.  WHO KNOWS!!!

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Great thanks to Tara from Jackson & Connor for taking the time to answer our questions and give us some insight into her and Candice’s store.  Please check out the latest from them here and also on Facebook, here.