Children who are looking for a way to earn some money when summertime hits have been known to set up lemonade stands on street corners. Melissa Pontiff, owner of Suburban Girl—a boutique on Barker Cypress Road in Cypress—recalls this common sight from her own childhood.

However, even at a young age, Pontiff said, she was already showing signs of her fascination with attractive objects. Instead of selling lemonade, she set up her own booth from which she sold beautiful stones that she collected from beaches and bayous.

"I've always enjoyed beautiful things, things that just look good or different," Pontiff said. "When I opened [Suburban Girl], I wanted to offer that same uniqueness."

Pontiff said she strives to provide an eclectic array of items in her shop, a mix of all sorts of different styles and fashions.

"We get shipments of new items in about four or five times each week, and very seldom do we reorder the same item," she said. "People can come in week by week and every time the inventory is going to be different."

An overview of all the things offered at Suburban Girl includes clothing, jewelry, cowboy boots, gift items, accessories and furniture. The shop itself is artfully decorated, and Pontiff said she tries to keep it stocked with enough items that customers will be looking through nooks and crannies for hours.

The store's various styles range from bohemian-chic and country-chic to classy classics and urban couture, Pontiff said.

"We love mixing these styles to create our own," she said. "Although we do carry several name brands, our main focus is to find those unique items that no one else has."

Pontiff, who opened Suburban Girl in December 2010, said her sales have increased dramatically during her second year in business. She attributes the success to her unique inventory and to the one-on-one attention given to each customer.

"A lot of the time our customers will come in looking for help on how to create a certain style or get a certain look," Pontiff said. "Right now, country weddings are the big thing. We have bridesmaids coming in who have never dressed country-chic before. We're here to help them with that sort of thing, and they like that."

Pontiff's philosophy for how to run the store has remained the same from when she first opened it.

"I just want my customers to walk in and smile," she said.

Furniture line

Owner Melissa Pontiff started selling furniture in 2011 after customers asked if her display pieces were for sale.

• Pontiff gets her furniture from estate sales and garage sales, then restores and redesigns the pieces herself
• Suburban Girl recently hired a picker to attend sales in search of furniture items that could be restored
• Pontiff has sold 10 pieces of furniture since she began the endeavor six months ago

Suburban Girl, 12320 Barker Cypress Road, Cypress, 281-758-3636

www.suburbangirlgifts.com