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Target A BULLSEYE VIEW A hidden gem among New York City’s look-but-don’t-touch museums in the city is the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. And this month’s focus: the NYC Design Studio, a hands-on installation that creates an imaginative workspace for children to express their own artistic style.

Tweens and teens have the opportunity to design in four categories: architecture, interior décor, theatrical set design and fashion. But we’re still not done: one New York-based designer from each category will make an appearance—Belinda Watts of Gensler for architecture, Christiane Lemieux of DwellStudio for interior design, Rachel Hauck of Region Theater for set design, and Lola Ehrlich of Lola Hats for fashion. We’ll stop name dropping, but only if you promise to make your way to the exhibit. And hurry—it’s only open through August 31.

Excited about the exhibit, we went the extra mile and got the inside scoop from one of the experts themselves.

Lola Ehrlich, magazine editor-turned-milliner, found her passion for hat-making after reflecting on her French upbringing—a time she always wore a hat—and taking a millinery class. Today, her Brooklyn shop Lola Hats offers one-of-a-kind handmade toppers.

Below, Lola dishes on her role in the exhibit, hat-making and why kids should learn about design early on.

Why did you decide to participate in the NYC Design Studio exhibit?
Lola Ehrlich: I think it’s wonderful to get kids revved up about something they might not know or think about. My hats and the way I make them are a rarity nowadays—kids might see them in a movie or cartoons, but most think of a baseball cap when they think of a hat. I thought it was a great opportunity to show kids the wider range of hats that are available, and how they’re made. The way felt and straw hats are made today is the same way the Romans and Greeks made them

Why do you think it’s important for kids to learn about design?
LC: Children are sponges—they should learn and be exposed to as much as possible and as young as possible, in a very relaxed manner. I think about my own exposure as a child, and what I saw and learned in my formative years has had an enormous bearing on my adult life.

What is the most important thing to keep in mind when becoming a milliner?
LC: The most important thing as a designer of any kind is to have an amazing sense of proportion, color and aesthetic balance. All the rest you can learn. You can learn a trade, but if you can’t judge a color, see the balance between shapes and know what looks good, you’ll never be a good designer.

Why are hats such an integral part of fashion?
LC: Hats show something of your personality that you aren’t otherwise ready to show or necessarily want to show, but is there. A hat is a halo around the face—a crown—and highlights what you are. Sometimes you need a little push to bring out everything you have to offer the world, and the hat can do that for you. If you are brassy, cocky, funny, charming—all those things come out with a hat.

On the first Friday of every month, admission to The Children’s Museum of Manhattan is free from 5-8 p.m., sponsored by Target.