Heirloom gives skilled mentors a profile, a booking system, and a community of families and adult learners actively looking for someone exactly like you — then pays you $25–$75 an hour to teach the skills they actually want to learn. At the kitchen counter, in the garden, in your workshop. No classrooms. No screens. Just an hour, a child or adult learner, a parent when relevant, and your craft.
Not sure about the tech side? A family member or friend can sit with you and help — or even do the typing while you answer the questions. It's how a lot of our mentors get started.
Having trouble or questions about signing up? Email us at support@heirloomlearn.com — we're here to help.
Don't see your skill listed? That's the point. From bookbinding to blacksmithing to beekeeping - if you've spent years on it, a child wants to learn it.
Schools cut shop class. Parents are stretched thin. The thing you've spent real time mastering - sharpening a chisel, proofing a dough, pruning a tomato, dialing in a weld - is exactly what a 9-year-old wants to learn from someone who actually does it. Whether you've been at it for 5 years or 50.
If you teach from your home studio, your backyard, or your kitchen, most people who'd love to learn from you have no way to find you. Heirloom gives you a profile that shows up to families and adult learners in your area who are actively searching for exactly what you offer. You don't have to market yourself — we do that part.
Most mentors say the same thing after their first session: it felt like teaching a younger sibling or their own kid. You set the pace, choose the project, and decide what's worth learning first. Nothing about it looks like school.
You set your own rate within your tier. We keep 15% to handle vetting, payments, and insurance - you keep the other 85%. Teach two evenings a week and most mentors clear $300–$600 a month without leaving the neighborhood.
Don't see your skill listed? That's the point. From bookbinding to blacksmithing to beekeeping - if you've spent years on it, a child wants to learn it.
Of every booking goes to you
Average mentor commitment
What most mentors earn teaching 2 evenings a week
You provide them; costs included in your rate
Re-vetting cadence - handled by us
Heirloom hasn't launched yet - we're vetting our founding mentors in your area now. These reflect the reasons applicants give us; names and likenesses are illustrative.
"My workshop got quiet between projects. The idea that there could be a kid here every Tuesday building a birdhouse - that's why I signed up."
"I sew out of a corner of my apartment and teach the occasional adult class. Heirloom let me put a kids' offering on my schedule without building a whole separate business around it."
"I run a small forge and teach a couple of evenings a week. The kids ask better questions than most of my apprentices did."
"I wasn't sure anyone wanted to learn cursive in 2026. Turns out a lot of parents do. That's all the proof of concept I needed."
A short intake - your craft or skill, years of practice, your city, and when you're free. Takes about ten minutes.
Upload a government-issued ID and take a quick live selfie, then complete a nationwide criminal records check. Both are run by our trusted screening partners. We also visit you in person to meet you and walk through the space where you'll host learners.
We'll schedule a relaxed video call to get to know you, talk through your craft, and answer any questions you have. Nothing formal — just a conversation.
A photo, a short bio, and the hourly rate you want to charge. Our team reviews and approves it, usually within a few days.
Once approved, you upload proof of $1M liability coverage (~$25/mo if you don't have one). You provide your own materials for sessions, and those costs can be built into your booking fee. A parent or guardian is in the room for every session - some watch, and some choose to participate alongside their child. When setting your rate, consider whether you're comfortable accommodating an additional hands-on learner, and price with that possibility in mind. Then families can book you, and you're paid weekly.
We handle any issues between you and families. If a session doesn't go well for any reason, contact us and we make it right - including refunding your time if warranted.
Heirloom mentors can teach one-on-one, in small groups, or both - whatever fits your space, your craft, and how you like to teach.
If you only have room for one student at a time, one-on-one is simple and personal. If your space and supplies can support more, group sessions let you teach several children at once, each paying a per-child rate you set - which often means stronger earnings per hour than teaching solo.
Each child still brings their own parent or guardian. In a group setting, parents are present but not expected to participate hands-on unless they want to - so you can focus on teaching without doubling your materials for every adult in the room.
There's no minimum or maximum group size. You decide what your space and supplies can comfortably handle, and price accordingly.
We're vetting our first Bentonville mentors right now. Tell us about your craft and we'll be in touch within two weeks.