SPRINGWATER, N.Y. — Inside a barn in the town of Springwater, New York, a centuries-old skill is taught to a new crowd: welding. After graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in sculpting, Stacey Mrva and her husband Tom moved to the Finger Lakes region, opening Ironwood Studios.
“I had friends who wanted to learn to weld,” said Stacey Mrva. “So I thought, why don’t I make a project and see how it goes, and I just fell in love with it.”
It’s not just a place that breaks through metal, but glass barriers too. Ironwood Studios teaches women and young girls of all ages how to weld.
“You’re not walking into some industrial space with a bunch of guys asking, ‘what are you doing here?'” Mrva said. “You’re more than welcome to be here.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 5.8% of welders in 2023 were female.
Ironwood Studios is looking to increase that statistic one woman at a time. Since opening, more than 600 women ranging from ages 8 to 83 have walked through the red barn doors.
“Being surrounded by other women that are supporting you and cheering you on while you’re doing something scary, how amazing is that?” said Mrva.
Ironwood’s motto is “Finding your Spark.” To Francine Pelkey, welding was the thing that saved her.
“I was going through one of the lowest points in my life,” said Francine Pelkey, a student at Ironwood Studios. “It became my happy place, I never knew how much I needed welding in my life.”
Pelkey ended up quitting her full-time job to pursue a new career in welding and attend welding school.
A group of high school sophomores that are part of an all-girls engineering team walked into Ironwood Studios with a project: to build a car entirely on their own.
“I love seeing girls do untraditional things,” said Jessica Burnett, the team’s coach. “These girls have always just assumed that something like welding is something they can do.”
The girls believe that by learning to weld, they will be able to build the frame of the car.
“There’s a lot of scary activities that many young girls can be like, ‘Oh I don’t wanna do that,’ but you don’t know until you try it,” said Maria Heatwole, a student engineer.
Even after class is over, Stacey hopes that all women leave with a newfound sense of strength and confidence.
“A lot of times when women pick up a tool men will go ‘be careful!’ But there’s no reason for us to be careful,” Mrva said.
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