PART-TIME JOB: Serendib House: Garden, Kitchen, and Craft Apprentice
8 hrs / week, $20 / hr, mostly weekdays (timing somewhat flexible), two-month commitment, possibly renewable if all goes well.
Serendib House is Mary Anne Mohanraj’s art & writing business. Much of it involves gathering flowers from her garden and turning them into art. She’s currently selling her work at an incubator at the Berwyn Shops, and is hoping to ramp up towards possibly opening a brick-and-mortar store in 2026. To that end, she could use some help! This apprenticeship would involve soap-making, candle-making, baking, gardening, jewelry-making, and more, along with some computer work (photographing and editing photos of stock, entering and tracking inventory, etc.), and running errands (mailing packages, for example).
An ideal apprentice would be interested in learning how to do all kinds of crafty, gardening, and cooking things. They’d be willing to do a fair bit of garden chores (this first few weeks, there’ll be a lot of backlogged weeding, so it’d mostly be that), and do some grubby jobs like washing resin out of silicone molds (tedious). But there’d also be lots of actual making involved, and Mary Anne will teach as she goes along. No heavy labor expected; we can hire someone separately if heavy things need moving. No experience necessary — just willing hands, plenty of energy, and the ability to move easily (you’ll need to kneel in the garden, for example, and go up and down lots of flights of stairs). You also need a driver’s license (so you can occasionally run things to the post office or the shop); you don’t need a car of your own. Good English skills needed also, as you may be writing up ad copy, drafting newsletters, etc.
(Gardeners, just fyi, my garden started as a blank canvas, and for the first decade, I’ve mostly been developing a constantly changing perennial garden. The last five years, I’ve started incorporating more natives, and am aiming towards a hybrid garden long-term. Plenty of coneflower and milkweed, but plenty of roses too. A side benefit of this gig for gardeners is that you’ll likely be offered lots of seedlings and divisions.)
This would be a good gig for a high school junior or senior with a driver’s license, a college student home for the summer or one who goes to school locally, or a young adult, especially if you’re interested in developing a career in this area. If you’re a parent with small children you need to bring along, that’s fine, as long as they’re not too disruptive. I’d love to find someone who would potentially be available in the fall, if this continues (which is mostly dependent on sales!) Work will primarily be at Mary Anne’s house (332 Wisconsin Ave., near the YMCA), though you may occasionally be asked if you’re available to cover some time selling at the Berwyn Shops (6931 Roosevelt Road, at Clinton) or at Berwyn Sprout (22nd and Cermak, Berwyn). The Shops coverage may be on the weekend (but you’re not required to be available for that). We’ll probably work in two 4-hr shifts / week, most of the time.
Interested folks, please send an e-mail to mohanraj@uic.edu, with the SUBJECT line: APPRENTICE. I don’t need a resume, but a paragraph or two about you and your interest in the position would be great. I’m hoping to interview people down at the Shops this Fri / Sat / Sun, to start the week of July 7. (I’m out of town the next two weeks.)
More about Mary Anne here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anne_Mohanraj, http://www.maryannemohanraj.com
More about the business here: http://www.serendibshop.com
Ask if you have questions!