Allison Mastin stands inside her recently opened Prevail Boutique.

A boutique boom rendered Blue Earth a veritable shopping wonderland this spring.

First, The Blue House relocated to Grove Street to continue selling a curated collection of women’s clothing alongside its new mattress inventory.

Meanwhile, Wild Soul Boutique opened its doors just a few weeks ago on Main Street to fulfill the needs of local boho-lovers.

Prevail, a new boutique on Main Street, completed the trifecta one month ago, filling The Blue House’s former Main Street space with a tempting collection of fashionable, affordable women’s clothing.

“All three of us boutiques work together,” explains Allison Mastin, owner/operator of Prevail. “All three of us are different, and that’s good.” 

“We’re not competitors – we need this in this town,” she clarifies. “My main goal is, I want to see Main Street built up again.” 

As Mastin sees it, variety is vital fuel for Blue Earth’s business economy.

She has kept this in mind while curating Prevail’s inventory.

“I want to accommodate everybody,” Mastin reasons.  

As such, she categorizes her targeted clientele as ‘baby to 80,’ a slogan which she credits to her friend Sarah Fering.

‘Baby to 80’ is a quite literal description of Prevail’s inventory.

After noticing a shortage of places to purchase children’s clothing in the area, Mastin devoted Prevail’s back corner to an array of tiny toddler garments.

Meanwhile, the rest of the boutique is chock-full of clothes for grown-ups, which Mastin hopes will appeal to a variety of ages, sizes, shapes and styles.

“I have everything for everybody,” Mastin says.

Even if Mastin does not have a specific item in stock, she will do everything she can to get it. When a customer shares their clothing wishlist with her, she takes to the web to track down their dream items.

Mastin also tries to price her inventory realistically, in keeping with her desire to accommodate the needs of all, not some.

“The most expensive things (in Prevail) are $30,” she says.

Mastin notes that affordable pricing is important in a small town – the soaring prices found in metro area boutiques are not appropriate to the every-day shopping habits of many rural residents.

Mastin, who was born and raised in Blue Earth, is familiar with the rural way of life. However, the boutique business itself has been a new adventure for her.

It was just three months ago that Mastin took the advice of a successful local business owner and plunged into business ownership herself.

“I’ve always loved clothes, but I never thought I would open a boutique in Blue Earth,” she admits.

Nonetheless, when The Blue House vacated the space now occupied by Prevail, the gentleman in question encouraged Mastin’s interest in the Main Street storefront.

“(He had) seen something in me, and kept pushing me and pushing me,” she recalls.

Though Mastin had never owned a business before, she brought valuable skills to the table when she first opened Prevail’s doors to the public.

“I went to school for business law,” Mastin shares, adding that she has 14 years of experience in general accounting for businesses. As such, Prevail’s bookkeeping does not intimidate her.

“Running the books is the easy part,” Mastin says. “Ironing is hard.” 

Mastin has many duties apart from pulling out the ironing board more frequently than she’d like.

She is behind Prevail’s counter between 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Thursdays, and from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays.

However, she also has plenty to do at home as a mother of three. Four, actually, according to Mastin’s estimate.

“My biggest child would be my husband, Jake Mastin,” she laughs.

The couple had a memorable celebration for their 11th wedding anniversary. The anniversary coincided exactly with Prevail’s grand opening on April 16, an alignment which Mastin views as symbolic.

“I hope to have the store for 11 years, too,” she says.

One month in, Mastin already has a favorite aspect of business ownership. She says she loves seeing someone leave Prevail with a smile on their face.

“They’re coming in not knowing what they’re going to leave with,” Mastin says.

She particularly enjoys working one-on-one with clients to help them discover a new look. Indeed, Mastin encourages those who want a private shopping session to stop by Prevail on Mondays, when she likes to keep the doors open to passersby.

Mastin hopes to expand her personal shopping services in the future.

Currently, customers can call her at 507-520-0017 or email her at vail2022d@yahoo.com to schedule a personal session.

She is also finalizing her website at www.prevail.boutique.

Otherwise, Mastin’s plans for the future are focused upon giving back to her community, which she hopes business ownership will help her to do.

Mastin explains that Connect the Grey, a company which consults with entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations, has helped her get her business off the ground. As such, Mastin hopes to return the favor by helping with Connect the Grey’s Rural Renaissance Project in the future.

Additionally, Mastin wants to invest her time in helping local children. She imagines someday collecting donations to fund swim passes or sports fees to engage local children in productive pastimes.

“We’ve got to keep kids out of trouble, because they’re our future,” Mastin reasons.  

“My main goal is to help Blue Earth, and help children,” she concludes.