The questions guides ask first.

No - you need craft or skill experience and patience. Most Heirloom guides have never taught professionally. They've spent years doing something they love - woodworking, baking, sewing, gardening, natural dyeing, small builds, oral history - and want to pass it on. We help you shape that knowledge into a session a learner can follow.

If you've genuinely done the work and can teach it safely in person, it likely belongs here. We love lost-and-found skills (cursive, natural dyeing, oral history, repair), living crafts (pottery, woodworking, gardening, sewing, baking), and new ways of making (small builds, recycled-material art, hybrid craft + tech). If you're unsure, apply anyway and tell us what you carry.

21 or older. There's no upper limit - some of our best guides are in their 60s and 70s.

A short five-step application: your craft, your space, references, ID upload, and a background check consent. Most guides finish it in under 30 minutes and you can save and come back anytime. Before you teach your first session, you'll also need to carry your own general liability insurance (most guides pay roughly $25-$40/month, or about $250-$400/year through providers like Thimble, Hiscox, or Next Insurance). We'll walk you through options once you're approved.

Before you can list a single session, our trust team works through this checklist with every applicant. Nothing on it is optional.

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  Government photo ID + live selfie match

  Confirms the person you meet is the person we vetted.
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  Multi-state & federal criminal history search

  Covers every county they've lived in for the past 7 years.
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  National sex offender registry screening

  Cross-checked against all 50 U.S. states and territories.
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  Working-with-children clearance

  State equivalent of a DBS / WWCC, including child abuse registry checks.
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  Two non-family references

  We actually call them - usually a former employer and a community contact.
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  Interview with our trust team

  A 30-minute conversation about safety, boundaries, and teaching style - in person or by video, guide's choice.

Re-checks · Identity, criminal history, and registry checks are re-run automatically every 12 months. Any new charge between checks pauses a guide's profile the same day.

Absolutely. Many guides ask a family member or friend to sit with them and help with the computer part - it's a great way to do it. Just make sure the information is about you: we'll still verify your identity, talk to you on a video call, and run your background check personally.

That's fine. Many guides teach from a kitchen table, garage, backyard, or community space (library, maker space, community center). During the application we'll walk you through a short space self-evaluation - photos, video, and a safety questionnaire - so parents know what to expect before they book.

Your choice. You can offer sessions for kids (with a parent always present), for adults, or list separate offerings for each. Kids and adults are never mixed in the same workshop.

All three, if you want. Set a per-session rate for private sessions and a per-child group rate for small groups. Workshops (a scheduled class with multiple learners on the calendar) can be one-part or two-part, and you set the size cap.

You mark available windows in your dashboard - the same month view parents see. Learners can only book what you've opened, and you approve every request before it's confirmed. No surprise bookings.

One hour is the minimum. Most guides teach 60-120 minute sessions - long enough to actually finish something real together. You can extend in-app at the same hourly rate.

Yes, with separate profile sections. Many guides list a primary craft and a secondary one - for example, woodworking and leatherwork, or baking and pastry. Each skill gets its own rate, bio, photos, and intro video. You can add or remove skills anytime.

You never have to handle it alone. For kid sessions, a parent is always present and manages behavior in real time. Either way, you can pause or end a relationship in-app with one tap - no awkward conversation required. Our trust team reviews every ended relationship and will block a family or learner from the platform if needed. Your safety and comfort come first.

You set your rate within your tier: Apprentice $25-$35/hr, Craftsperson $35-$50/hr, Master $50-$75/hr. Heirloom keeps 15% to run the platform; you keep 85%. Group workshops are priced per learner, so your total per hour is often higher than a private session.

Direct deposit, weekly. Payments release 24 hours after each session ends. You'll see total earnings, upcoming payouts, and tax documents in your dashboard.

You provide your own materials, and those costs can be built into your booking fee. Learners see your all-inclusive rate on your profile, so there's no awkward separate charge for supplies at the end of a session.

Yes. Every guide carries their own liability insurance and uploads proof of coverage before their first session. If you don't have one, we can point you at affordable providers used by other guides on the platform.

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the session, both sides. Inside 24 hours, you're paid 50% to protect your reserved time. Emergencies are reviewed by our trust team case-by-case.

No. Applying and listing on Heirloom is free. The background check is the only cost, and you can either pay it up front or have it deducted from your first sessions.