Adorn by Amanda

Diehl arrived in Texas after earning an undergraduate degree in women's studies and a master's in apparel and textile design at Kansas State University. She worked retail for a few months, knowing all along she was going to have a boutique.

She opened her first store in Grapevine in 2005 in a bungalow at 202 W. Wall St. Diehl had a lot of space to fill.

She got busy. Diehl went to market and also took a big trip home to Kansas. Her grandpa's old gun cabinets became store fixtures. She and her dad mounted doorknobs on an old porch post, a piece of store dcor that routinely draws comments.

"We were making something out of nothing," she says.

She filled the bungalow, and the customers came.

By 2011, she learned of a space available on Main Street and decided to make the move. Keeping 2,000 square feet filled had been a challenge, and Main Street was the place to be for foot traffic.

Diehl shares the space at 422 S. Main St. with The Magic Pen, a stationery business. Having two stores in one place has proven good for both.

"It's hard to be self-employed without a support system," Diehl says. "We help each other out. It took a lot of pressure off for me."

Now, she can leave the floor for lunch or to run an errand without having to close up shop and leave a note. The two shopkeepers look after one another.

By the time she moved, Diehl had a good handle on what sells—jewelry, clothing and picture frames.

She put a lot of thought into price points as she shifted to a busier area. People, she says, want to make purchases that are almost guilt-free.

In retail, that means a top price that hovers around $30 per item, Diehl says. Buying for the store is a challenge.

"It takes so much effort to find things that are special and beautiful and still at the $30 price point," she says.

At the same time, Diehl says, her own taste has become more refined as she stays in the business longer.

Her style is on display everywhere in the store and in what she wears.

One day this summer, she was in a vintage crocheted wrap over a floor-length net skirt, a knuckle ring on one finger and a large piece of silver jewelry around her neck.

Behind the counter, old window frames, shutters and doors hang, as a homage to the bungalow.

The typical Adorn customer is a woman who wants to pick up a piece for going out, someone who wants cool jewelry that works office-to-evening and a shopper who looks for versatile, casual clothing.

Diehl likes the boutique owner's life of giving her customers unusual choices.

"I wasn't interested in trying to buy a mini-mansion," she says. "I just wanted to really enjoy what I did."

Boutique experience

When it comes to fashion, owner Amanda Diehl has a flair for unusual pairings: big, chunky jewelry pieces with delicate textures like lace, for example.

Expect distinctive clothing, jewelry and home goods at price points around $30.

She puts photographs of rock stars in the picture frames on display. Diehl says customers have purchased the frames planning to keep the photos.

Diehl stocks some vintage pieces mingled with new, which attracts a mix of customers.

Old architectural pieces are part of the dcor: window frames, doors, a chair hung on the wall.

Adorn by Amanda

422 S. Main St., Grapevine, 817-381-1436, Facebook: Adorn by Amanda

Hours: Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–6 p.m.