trends
JUST SELL IT .
The Connect Clothing Store brings style and community to Montclair WRITTEN BY JORAM MUSHINSKE
DO WHAT YOU LOVE Lucas Maher turned his passion for sneakers into acareer when he opened The Connect Clothing Store in Montclair .
Long before he sold apair of Nike ’ s for $ 6,000 , Lucas Maher was just another kid trying to find the money for his next pair of kicks . But as afifth-grader in West Orange , he couldn ’ t afford the sneakers he wanted , and was getting sick of just browsing online . So he decided to buy some shoe paint and brushes , and started his first business .
“ In eighth grade , Iwould repaint or clean my classmates ’ shoes for money ,” he says . “ This allowed me to start saving up for sneakers that Ialways wanted .”
Maher quickly realized that if he bought the right shoes , he could resell them for aprofit , giving him money to buy even more sneakers . “ The ball started rolling from there . It was afun side hobby all the way into high school ,” he says . “ Eventually , I had to decide between college or sneakers . It was a big decision but deep down in my heart , Iknew Iwould rather fail at something I loved doing than be successful at something I hated .”
Maher told his parents that he didn ’ t want to go to college and instead planned to open a sneaker / clothing store . “ After some convincing , they understood I was not changing my mind and they gave me their support ,” he says .
With his future plans in mind , Maher ramped up his reselling business during his last year of high school . He attended sneaker events out of state and began networking with different resellers to build up his name . A few months after graduating school , he found a storefront in Montclair and opened The Connect Clothing Store .
COURTESY OF LUCAS MAHER
24 FALL 2021 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE