SF-based illustrator Hannah Stouffer is hoping that snow cones and creative vibes will lure customers into her new Upper Tenderloin boutique, The Tropics, when it opens this weekend, but that the highly-curated selection of merchandise will keep them coming back for more.

Opening its doors for business this Saturday night, the space initially served purely as Stouffer’s studio before she realized its true potential. She describes the transition as a “party in the front, business in the back type of deal; kind of like a reverse mullet.” (As you may be aware, we’re all over the mullet reference.)

The Tropics will carry brands such as Blood is the New Black and Grand Array, both of which feature Stouffer’s work, as well as various prints by selected artists. You can also expect to find a few things from Beautiful Decay, Juxtapoz, Living Proof, SPRFKR, David V. D’Andrea and Andrei Bouzikov.

The Tropics is Stouffer’s second retail venture, the first being Studio 3579, which Stouffer ran with two other women before they decided to embark upon new opportunities. This time around, Stouffer says that aside from the help of her assistant and friends, the new space is entirely her own undertaking. The Illustration and Erotic Art Editor at Juxtapoz magazine, a full time freelance artist with big name clients such as The North Face, Chronicle Books and Nike (she just wrapped up a San Francisco edition running shoe that will be released in the fall) and now a shop owner, Stouffer has most definitely proven herself as an entrepreneurial force to be reckoned with.

The Tropics (727 Leavenworth St. San Francisco, CA) will be holding its grand opening and “First Offering” this Saturday, July 16, 2011 from 7- 10 pm.

More San Francisco boutiques…