About Lakyn at The Nine Oh Six

I always knew that I would grow up to be an artist. It was a gut feeling. When I was young I would draw our family’s Christmas cards, go into the art room during study halls, spend my weekends taking art classes learning a new craft, and loved rearranging my bedroom. When it came to picking a major for college, I’m glad I was stubborn and didn’t go with my mom’s safe suggestion of “physical therapist.” I knew it wouldn’t have been fulfilling for me.

After graduating with my BFA in ceramics from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, I moved 6.5 hours south in January 2019 for an unpaid ceramics internship in Jackson, Tennessee. I was on my own for the first time—no friends or family, working at Chick-Fil-A saying, “My pleasure” because it paid the bills. In constant desperation for a creative hobby outside of work, I started intentionally decorating my apartment creating my personal style with thrifted vintage goods. I started a dedicated home décor Instagram account named Lakyn Thrifts where I shared styling tips, inspiration, and connected with the home decor community. After a while, I started accumulating way too much stuff for my one bedroom apartment, but the creative hunt couldn’t be stopped. I posted TikTok videos of my thrifting, DIYs, creative projects, and a couple of them went viral. I recreated photos of my grandma when she was my age using thrifted clothing, and that video went so viral I ended up as a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show!

I followed and met several talented women who were and are inspirational on how to successfully buy and resell vintage. Reselling meant I got to creatively shop for a living. What a dream! I collected 25 items for my first sale, staged them, photographed them, then edited those photos, wrote descriptions, took measurements, and posted them on Facebook—auction style. I marketed my sales on TikTok and suddenly 4,000 people were a part of my Facebook group! I had sold out online sales once a month through the pandemic, then participated in local pop ups and eventually decided to open my first antique mall booth to have a physical spot to shop my goods. After roughly 6 months of one booth, I opened a second booth at a different location, and both became consistently successful.

 A year of online sales and a year of antique mall booths later, I had a strong intuitional pull that I would open a physical store one day. I didn’t know when or how but I trusted that it would happen at the perfect time. I was still making pottery inspired by vintage patterns, participating in juried exhibitions, invitationals, sold out solo shows, was awarded Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artists 2022 and a month later, I received the cover of that magazine. I was on a roll! If I was going to open my own shop, I had to make it so I could live my double life. I needed a hybrid vintage shop and pottery studio. After spending 3.5 years at my ceramics artist in residency/internship where I had learned so much memorable, useful knowledge, I am grateful for my experience there, however I had been looking for a way to move onto my own thing.

I took a stroll through our downtown area to tour and chat with the owner of an old building on Main Street. It was cobalt blue with a big eagle painted on the front window. Inside were dark wooden floors, beautiful original aluminum ceilings, and 2100 sq ft of character. I saw myself in there but was absolutely not ready for that much overhead and risk. The owner wasn’t ready to give up using it as storage just yet either, so I continued my search.

Applications for The LOCAL, an incubator space for micro retail that offers low rent and short-term leases in the heart of downtown, Jackson. TN, opened in July 2022. I applied, got accepted, and couldn’t believe I was opening my own store! With the help of friends and family, we worked hard getting that shop open and off the ground. In that small 280 sq ft building we really slung some vintage. I learned so much over that first year in business and developed a pretty good understanding of what it took to run a physical shop and was willing to continue the hard work. At the end of our first-year lease, we decided we had outgrown our current spot and felt it was worth the risk to move into a bigger location. Gave that same building owner a call and he agreed to rent me the space. Keys in hand and only 28 days later, we opened at our current location on 9/06/2023.

What does 906 mean?

The simplest answer is that it’s my birthday! But it’s more woo woo than that. ✨ Before I opened a physical shop, I felt it was time for a rebrand. As much online recognition as I received as Lakyn Thrifts, I didn’t want ‘thrift’ in the name of the physical store. I wanted to get ahead of the “thrift store” vs “curated vintage shop” confusion. People also have a hard time pronouncing my name—it’s Lay-kin, like bacon. Most importantly, I wanted a brand name that didn’t trap me in a box. I wanted versatility, the ability to pivot or change the business as I see fit. Some might say it’s bad marketing, but I wanted a name that didn’t suggest what we do, a brand that was unique to me while remaining adaptable for future iterations. What do I name such a business? There was one name that I kept coming back to—The Nine Oh Six.

I see the numbers 906 everywhere, on the clock, receipts, license plates, odometers, countless uncanny synchronicities that are impossible to logically explain. It’s a little glimmer from the universe, a sense of self assurance, an intuitional symbol guiding me to divine purpose. The more I see 906 the more I connect with it, the more confident in myself I feel. When I was young they felt like subtle, coincidences and just felt cool to see my birthday, but back in 2021 I started screenshotting proof when it was showing up more frequently. It was getting crazy how often I would see it. TikTok views, Instagram following, and always on the clock. When I would see it, I would feel a sense of excitement and encouragement to keep creating. I still didn’t think much of it until I was making my first big purchase for the new shop with no name. The total was $1,906. It was in that exact moment I was confident I needed to pivot and name my business The Nine Oh Six. It was versatile, open ended, deeply personal, and a blatantly obvious sign from the universe.

I named my shop The Nine Oh Six because under that name I can do and be anything, which ultimately is my life’s biggest desire. I can do a little bit of everything I love. I can resell vintage, collaborate with and support other businesses, throw fun parties, chat with folks from all walks of life, and sell my handmade goods. If you ever see 906 out in the wild, I hope its sparkle rubs off on you!

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