The Best Little Gift Shop in Texas?

A spacious cellar cut from living stone in the 1850s in the center of town marks one of the earliest building sites in Round Top. Sitting atop the cellar is a relatively new pioneer-style building constructed by architecture students and owned by Texas Pioneer Arts Foundation.

The storefront gained a dreamy new tenant: a worldly little boutique dubbed Lark. Proprietors and married couple Barbara Samuelson and Russell Smith tell us their goal is to fix the cellar up for special events, but for now Lark is the ideal place to scoop up gifts for your gracious country-house weekend hosts, including vintage globes, unique barware, curiosities, nature-inspired candles and books. Also on the shelves are the designer/artist owners’ own handmade Scattered Light Jewelry (he’s also a goldsmith) and Smith’s bronze sculptures, which can also be found at Fine Home in Round Top.

Catch him demonstrating his stone carving in the courtyard on sunny afternoons. The couple — she hails from chilly Minnesota and he from Austin — now live on a farm with two horses, four chickens, a dog and cat in nearby Smithville. Lark, 102 E. Mills St., Round Top, 512.695.4386