You know we love a collaboration here at Martha Mae. We're excited to share with you that we are partnering with our friends at The Roof Crop for a botanical watercolor workshop on September 12th where guests will paint flowers grown in the rooftop greenhouses, using natural pigments crafted by Melanie Molnar, The Roof Crop's associate creative director, made from dye crops grown by The Roof Crop and kitchen scraps from Maxwells Trading.
As you enter their space on Carroll Ave, you are welcomed into Third Season, a cafe, apothecary, and retail shop where they are selling their homegrown flowers, various honeys from their Hive Supply Company partnership, vintage books on any subject you can think of, and a thoughtful assortment of goods from local artists who have taught workshops in the space. Across the hall is their design studio where workshops take place, floral arrangements are made, and endless experiments with their botanicals are had. When you head up to the roof, you are greeted by three greenhouses and a verdant landscape full of flowers, herbs, produce, and natural plants. You forget you are in Chicago for a moment, until you look up and see the city backdrop. Their entire team is friendly and passionate about what they are growing and creating. It is truly an inspiring environment built to create good.
We spent the morning on the rooftop farm learning more about The Roof Crop's mission, what they are growing, and how they are using their space and resources to uplift local artists, further their sustainability efforts, and create education programming for ecologically minded youth. Learn more from The Roof Crop's associate creative director Melanie Molnar in our interview below.
Would you give us a brief history of The Roof Crop and The Roof Crop Foundation?
The Roof Crop is a design focused, urban agriculture initiative that values and promotes sustainability, ecology, and community engagement.
The Roof Crop was conceived as a project to market farmable green roof systems in 2013 and we have since grown into a green roof growing plant media, landscape, and urban farm company with deep ties to the communities in which we work. We grow flowers, produce, grains, and various natural dye crops in any farmable growing media on roofs and on-grade.
The Roof Crop Foundation, founded in 2021, aims to mitigate climate change by creating community-oriented green spaces.
In partnership with The Hive Supply Company, we manage over 100 hives in Chicago. Together we provide maintenance, honey, and honey products to our communities and partners that host our hives.
Since its inception, The Roof Crop Foundation has invested in our apiary program, grown our community, and built our ecologically minded youth education programing.
Third Season by The Roof Crop is an apothecary and retail shop and custom design studio, specializing in sourcing well-designed products and collaborating with The Roof Crop and like-minded businesses to create enriching events and workshops for our community.
How many roofs are you currently growing on?
The Roof Crop is cultivating and harvesting crops from 8 different locations.
What is your partnership with The Hive Supply? How can people support?
All profits from the purchase of TRCF honey and honey infusions (sold through Third Season) go toward our grant fund, which develops apiary programs for schools and community gardens. Donations are also accepted online and in shop.
Since opening your space on Carroll Ave, how have you expanded The Roof Crop? What’s all going on in your building?
The Roof Crop HQ’s building, which is thought to have been constructed in 1928, previously operated as a manufacturing warehouse in the West Town area of Chicago. Now, it houses four dynamic entities that highlight the value of meticulous craftsmanship. These include The Roof Crop (TRC), an apothecary and design store called Third Season, Flashpoint Innovation, a food and beverage consultancy equipped with its own state-of-the-art kitchen where clients can test menus, and Maxwells Trading, a 113 seat restaurant serving seasonally inspired soul satisfying food, crisp cocktails, engaging wines, and great music. The new renovated building also features a rooftop farm and 3 spacious greenhouses.
We love how thoughtful you are in all of your product development and workshop collaborations. Could you share a few ways you’re reusing plant material and expanding your sustainability efforts?
As a design studio focusing on sustainability and waste reuse, Third Season by The Roof Crop strives to divert as much from landfill as possible. Along with sourcing as crops from The Roof Crop and other local farms, we use kitchen waste from Maxwells Trading as natural dyes or as ingredients in collaboration products (for example citrus rind for incense).
Our design team creates bespoke dyed ribbon, napkins and table runners for events and weddings and pressed flower menus and invitations. We’re currently experimenting making paper from the discarded stems!
For events at our sister restaurant, Maxwells Trading, we often reuse diverted empty wine bottles by cutting them down for vessels and chipped restaurant plates find a second life holding ikebana inspired arrangements.
Melanie, could you share a bit about the process of making the natural paints that we are going to use in our workshop collaboration?
The workshop's natural honey watercolors are made from dye crops grown by The Roof Crop and kitchen scraps from Maxwells Trading. The first step is to extract pigment from the source material, such as marigold, avocado, and indigo. Afterwards, the pigment is combined with an inert substrate to create a lake pigment, which is then washed to remove extra minerals. The dried pigments are then mixed with a binding material, consisting of distilled water, honey, and gum arabic.
We love how Third Season amplifies the workshop artists you host and showcases the products you make! What’s coming up next in that space?
In August we’re hosting Liz Mortensen of Laila Textiles for an natural dye workshop with The Roof Crop grown botanicals on the 17th.
On the 24th we’re hosting Danielle Chutinthranond of Monsoon Pottery and Dylan Heath of Banana Phone Treats for a one of a kind fermentation workshop.
On October 24th we’re hosting a fundraiser / candle making workshop with Emily Neumann from Ecowilde Flower Co!
Martha Mae Botanical Watercolor Workshop at The Roof Crop
Join artist and Martha Mae Art Supplies and Beautiful Things founder, Jean Cate, for an in-person botanical watercolor workshop at Third Season by The Roof Crop on Thursday, September 12th from 6PM-8:30PM.
Dive into the world of watercolors with Jean as she guides you through an exploration of flowers grown by The Roof Crop. You will explore flowers on the rooftop on which they were grown. To enhance our connection to this natural oasis, Third Season by The Roof Crop has created handcrafted honey watercolors. Made from sustainably grown botanicals and reclaimed kitchen scraps from Maxwells Trading, each batch is meticulously produced using the traditional muller and slab technique.
All necessary materials will be provided for your painting session (painting supplies not to be taken home), but feel free to bring your favorite art supplies if you have them. Tickets include the watercolor workshop, natural watercolors made by The Roof Crop and flowers for you to take home, wine and non-alcoholic refreshments, and a delicious selection of bites from Maxwells Trading.
This is an introductory class for beginners or seasoned painters, all are welcome!
If you'd like to join us, you can purchase tickets here.
We hope you enjoyed learning more about our friends at The Roof Crop! We'd love to see you at our botanical watercolor workshop. Jean will also have an exclusive series of botanical paintings for sale at the Third Season retail shop.
If you're in West Town, stop by their cafe Third Season or schedule a rooftop farm tour to explore their facilities.