About Us

Welcome to NINE! If you’re taking the time to read this, thank you so much! You probably want to know who I am and what this brand is about. As for NINE, she’s brand new and will evolve over time I am sure. I am currently testing the market, as they say, and am figuring out who the ‘NINE girl’ is. And you can help! Let me know what you like, what you don’t like, and we’ll do this together.

As for me, my name is Nicole Lane, which is where NINE comes from…NIcole laNE, and I’m a 43 year old first time business owner. I have three kiddos and a loving husband, and we live in a little ole town in northern Indiana.

Growing up, I never really knew what I wanted to do, as not many of us do. School came naturally to me, so I was textbook smart and got straight As. That is great and all, but unless you figure out how to take that info and apply it to the real world, an A isn’t going to do much for you in the long run. My oldest daughter just started college, and I am now preaching that to her. Grades are important of course, but more importantly, try to figure out what you want to DO with your life.

So I graduated from Butler University with a degree in Finance. I actually started as an Economics major because I liked my high school Econ class so much 🤭 But I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my degree. I just knew that I didn’t want to be an accountant. After college, I was fortunate to be hired by a family friend at an international seed company, and that job turned into more of a marketing role, which was great experience. Then in 2008 the economy tanked, so I was let go. At this point, despite my strong will to never become an accountant, (with two small children) I had been taking night classes. Life is funny like that. In order to sit for the CPA exam, I needed to take roughly 8 more accounting classes that I hadn’t needed at Butler. So I passed those with flying colors, and it also turned out that my dad needed to hire a staff accountant at the CPA firm he and his partner owned. So, again, despite my ‘I’m never going to be an accountant’ mindset, I started working for my dad and his partner, passed the CPA exam, and became a licensed CPA. I worked there for 15 years and am still helping out here and there. It turns out I really like accounting, but I wanted a little more out of life, a little more social interaction, a little more independence, a little more ‘doing it on my terms.’ Life is short. And several years earlier, I had finally figured out what I really wanted to do. I was passionate about fashion and clothing. I always had been, but I’d never considered making it a career. However, with the rise of social media, I saw boutiques popping up left and right. And I thought, I can do that.

Fast forward several years, and here I am. I was a ball of nerves and excitement, but NINE was born. And I hope you stay to see NINE grow and thrive. I have big plans, and I hope you love them. We’re currently located in a small space on Main Street called The Coop Small Business Incubator, as part of an initiative to encourage local entrepreneurs to start a small business and help drive economic development. Once we outgrow this space, NINE will move to an old home in our downtown, that my husband and I are currently renovating.

Again, thank you for being here, and if you have dreams of your own and the opportunity to make them happen, don’t be afraid to go for it!

xoxo, Nicole