After graduating in 2009 from Pequot Lakes High School, Colie (Bauer) Ellingson went off to college, never imagining she’d one day return and own a retail store in the town where she grew up.

But just seven months after launching an online boutique, Ellingson and her husband, Ryan, opened Maverick Boutique in late May on Rasmussen Road in the building that’s connected to Wild Daisy. Their store offers clothing for women, girls and infants, with plans to add boys’ clothing in the fall.

“We always wanted to have our own business,” Colie said, where they could do whatever they wanted.

Even so, they didn’t envision opening a storefront so quickly.

“This happened faster than planned,” she said, noting after launching the boutique online they hoped to open a physical store two to three years down the road.

Maverick is located in the space that formerly housed Asian Accents, and before that Latte Da. When the Ellingsons learned the space was available, they took the leap to take it. The interior’s barnwood and cast iron finishing was the look they wanted.

The boutique is a total family affair, which includes the Ellingsons’ three children - Sasha, 7; Dakota, 4; and Amari, 1. Both Colie and Ryan work there, and both Sasha and Amari model clothing as does their mom for the boutique’s website. Colie also shares a new women’s product every week, trying it on and talking about it on social media posts.

As for the girls’ clothing items, Sasha, who is homeschooled, picks them out for the boutique.

“We focus on comfortable and versatile pieces - easy to style and easy to wear - for busy mamas and their minis,” the boutique website says.

The boutique’s name has two meanings: “That was our angel baby’s name,” Ryan said, “and a Maverick is someone that stands out, and we want to be different than other stores.”

He said the boutique appeals to the millennial market, but all ages can find something there.

Colie and Ryan met at college and lived in the Twin Cities, where Colie worked at three Fun Sisters retail stores. She also worked at Fun Sisters stores in Nisswa and Pequot Lakes, leaving in May 2020.

“Shortly after having our third child, I decided to leave my job at a local retailer and stay home with my littles. Missing the excitement, clothing and sense of helping, I had taken my passion online,” Colie says on the website, also sharing that her many years in retail inspired her to open her own boutique.

“The best feeling is seeing how excited a customer gets when they find the perfect outfit, and feel confident and beautiful,” the website says.

Colie said she was the first of her friends to marry and have kids, and she and Ryan moved to Breezy Point in 2014 to be closer to her parents for their support.

Ryan previously worked at Buffalo Wild Wings in Baxter, but now the boutique and their children are the couple’s sole focus.

Find more about Maverick on Facebook and Instagram @liveyourmaverick, or online at www.liveyourmaverick.com .

Nancy Vogt may be reached at 218-855-5877 or nancy.vogt@pineandlakes.com. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Nancy.