Samantha Adam Benenati inside Pomme

“I was thinking this morning, it’s like a jewelry box,” said Samantha Adam Benenati, standing inside Pomme, the tiny children’s boutique she just opened with Stéphanie Chayet. Certainly, the merchandise is beautiful and precious: Besides clothing—from brands such as Bébé ravi and Atsuyo et Akiko, much made exclusively for Pomme—there are Jess Brown dolls, Tamar Mogendorff birdhouses, Lalé quilts, and miniature Steiff polar bears.

Located on Duane Street, in what used to be Daisy Dog Studio, the Tribeca store is an outpost of the original Pomme in DUMBO, which the two women founded four years ago. There goal then, as now, was to make shopping for children’s items a pleasurable, even elegant, experience. “Kids’ stores are all so full and you can’t see anything, so we wanted Pomme to be like a gallery, where everything is easy to see,” said Benenati, waving at the white walls, with clothing hanging on them as if it were art. “But we still have a lot!”

The aesthetic is handmade, artistic, pretty, and definitely European. Benenati is originally from Belgium and now lives in the West Village; Chayet, who is French, lives in Tribeca. Both are mothers and former fashion journalists. Chayet was in Paris the day I stopped by, but it’s not clear all three of us would have fit comfortably in the space, which might be 100 square feet. In any event, the charming Benenati more than made up for it—”viviacious” doesn’t begin to do her justice. When I asked if the women chose Tribeca because it’s an upmarket neighborhood, she said, “Yes! And all the kids! They’re everywhere! It’s like that in DUMBO, too. There’s something in the water! They give you pills to have children!” Then again, I also got a glimpse of her steely side (and even it was delightful): When I confirmed that most of the wares are for girls, she said, “No, we also have boys’ stuff!” But it’s mostly for girls, I said—look at all the florals and pastels. She stopped smiling. “I prefer to say girls and boys.” D’accord!

Pomme is at 186 Duane St., between Hudson and Greenwich, 212-219-1449, pommenyc.com.