Women’s Welding Workshop ~ Ironwood Studio

AN EXPERIENCE REVIEW BY EMMA WESTERHOF

INTENTIONAL, HOSPITABLE, EMPOWERING.

The real deal and a pure delight. These are just a few words to describe the Women’s Welding Workshop at Ironwood Studio, Springwater, NY.

I’ll begin with INTENTIONAL. Start to finish – and, truly, even before you arrive at the little farmhouse tucked away in the beautiful upstate NY forest – the whole workshop experience was meticulously planned.

In the welding studio, our lovely captain, Stacey Mrva, has you practice getting a feel for the welding machines by tracing your initials on a piece of scrap metal. This is before you start the piece de resistance
In true fairy godmother fashion, Stacey somehow makes whatever materials you need next – be it earplugs; 50’s-inspired, cat-eye safety glasses; bandanas to hold hair back (that you can take home with you as a memento!); or pre-shaped metal rods (so you don’t spend the whole class bending metal – though she doesn’t deny you of that experience either!!) – appear at your station. I wasn’t even conscious of it happening. One minute, we’d be practicing a welding skill in a side room, and the next, we’d be ushered to our places where we’d been set up to continue our next phase of the artistic adventure.

Students are fortunate enough to have four hours in the studio to complete their projects. But at no point did the experience feel rushed. Breaks for conversation, laughs, and little history lessons on Wendy the Welder and Rosie the Riveter (Stacey truly is a quiet treasure trove of trivia – all you need to do is ask!) happened naturally. Technical questions were always encouraged by the budding welders. For one woman in my cohort, who’d recently acquired her own welding tools, Stacey even volunteered to keep in touch to help her establish a welding practice of her own.
Even the name – Ironwood Studio – is intentional and has symbolic meaning. Obviously, we love the nod to hard metal (iron… welding… you get the idea). But Stacey also shared that, while house-hunting for a place to set up shop, this farmhouse seemed destined for her because an actual ironwood tree was growing on the property. That same tree is now featured in the striking metal sign for Ironwood Studio that greets you at the mouth of the driveway (of course, a Stacey Mrva creation!).

I’ve been dying to talk about HOSPITABLE. For starters, some of the first words out of Stacey’s mouth to all of us were “Welcome! Today, my home is your home.” It’s clear that artists with an eye for beauty and design live in this elegant yet cozy farmhouse.) Stacey used to work in the hospitality/gourmet food industry and clearly has brought this wisdom to bear at Ironwood Studio. Stacey will prepare lunch for you. Did I mention she was in the gourmet food industry? Do yourself a favor and let yourself be surprised by the homemade, restaurant-grade, organic meal you receive that’s sure to meet all food restrictions/preferences. My cohort lucked out with an incredible, homemade butternut squash soup and a hearty salad with seasonal fruits and vegetables. It was mouth-watering. We had seconds. And we got to enjoy it all seated together in the beautiful Mrva dining room. Just… wow.
The experience begins with a grand tour of the Studio – upstairs and down – as Stacey familiarizes you with all the essential tools you’ll use for welding. She strikes the perfect balance of emphasizing important safety protocol without increasing stress/nerves over using, say, a heavy-duty table saw that throws AWESOME sparks. When you “graduate” the class with your completion of the project de jure, Stacey whips out fantastic Ironwood Studio stickers for you to take home alongside the aforementioned bandana. A class picture is added to the commemorative photo wall.

The designs for the daily projects are tried and true by Stacey herself. But there’s 100% room for creative liberty. Stacey encourages you to add “twists” to your piece by angling a piece of metal one way or another, adding a spiral here or there and of varying lengths, lifting a rod or two higher for a more cartoonish vs. realistic design, etc. You even get a “last call” near the end of the workshop to “…do anymore welding your heart desires” to your piece. I straight-up woke up the next day ITCHING to get back to welding. It does something to you!

Yes, Stacey is intentional and hospitable with a meticulous eye for detail. Like a master conductor, she orchestrates the whole experience for you. But at no point do you feel controlled, managed, or overloaded by information. One phase flows naturally into the next. I felt more pride and ownership over my work and overall experience as the day progressed. Stacey becomes your partner, alongside your teacher, and takes delight in your growing confidence.

The point of our time together (and with ourselves) is clear from the get-go: this is a mansplaining-free, artistic space to get your hands dirty and connect with likeminded women. There’s no room for perfectionism. There’s plenty of space for errors (and helpful assistance from Stacey, if you’d like it, to make them “beautiful mistakes”). You’re gathered together to MAKE something with your hands that didn’t previously exist that morning. This was such a fantastic reset for me, someone whose job is on the computer and who rarely has physical objects as work product. And the visual of capable women handling power tools with confidence has been imprinted in my mind. So inspiring to me, as a young woman and feminist.

I’ll end by saying this. As someone who works in marketing/PR, I know firsthand that the likelihood of folks writing reviews about events they’ve attended decreases substantially with each passing day. I was dead set on writing one, however, and was just waiting on the perfect day to sit down and produce something comprehensive. Because the woman-owned/-operated Women’s Welding Workshop at Ironwood Studio is SO worth it. And Stacey Mrva 100% deserves it. And that helped me realize that I also deserve to feel as authentic, strong, and joyful as I looked in my cohort’s photo after class in my relationships and day-to-day life. I’ve been encouraging all the women I know to sign up for a Women’s Welding Workshop so they can experience that, too.
It’s been a game changer for me.

You can learn more about Stacey and Ironwood studios (and find out about upcoming classes) by visiting her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/staceymmrva/ or by calling her at 585-230-4101