Pumpkin

Photograph: Cinzia Reale-Castello

“Eight out of ten parents call their kids pumpkin, so we thought it was an appropriate name,” says owner Rami Mizrahi of his quaint new West Village boutique.

After 27 years in the retail business—Mizrahi owns Blush, a women’s clothing shop, also on Bleecker Street—the Brooklyn dad decided to venture into kiddie territory. His 400-square-foot space is bright and cheery, its walls covered with neon orange paint and polka-dot wallpaper. Clothing and toys for children ages newborn to eight years are displayed on gallery-like illuminated glass shelves.

Don’t expect to find mass-produced playthings at this quirky emporium. Instead, says buyer Hela Borer, who handpicks each item, you’ll spot innovative products that other stores don’t carry. For example: Ecolights coloring book pages that look like stained glass when held up to a window ($7), and Blume baby bodysuits with sewn-on ties ($58). “Even people who don’t have children will find something they like,” says Borer. A design-your-own-lamp-shade kit, perhaps?

334 Bleecker St between Christopher and W 10th Sts (212-352-0109)