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How Barbie the Welder found purpose with metal fabrication

New York metal sculptor has used her platform to inspire other women to find their "missing piece"

I’m a big fan of Barbie The Welder.

Her work is simply incredible. Her back story, however, is both relatable and awe-inspiring.

I’ve been following her on Instagram for a few years now, and I didn’t know much about her other than she’s an incredibly talented metal artist who always seems to be filled with so much joy.

Welding, art, and the life she’s built around those things bring her genuine happiness. It’s her passion, so she can’t help but light up when she talks about it to her Instagram followers or to a trade publication editor she’s never met before. It’s what happens when you thoroughly love what you do, which clearly she does.

I sat down with Barbie for The FABRICATOR Live video series we produced at FABTECH 2021 in Chicago. What was going to be a simple conversation about women in welding and her thoughts on increasing participation for women in our trade became so much more.

We talked about who she was before welding. One of the things that Barbie mentioned was that as a teen, her worst fear was standing out and being different. Even though she didn’t want to show it, Barbie knew she was different. She liked working on cars and doing stuff with her hands, and that made her inherently different. But as much as she loved cars—and still loves them to this day—they weren’t actually her “thing.” In fact, she didn’t find her thing—her purpose—until much later in life, and it was a struggle for her until she did.

It turns out welding was her thing. It consumed her and lit her up from the inside. It was almost as if welding was the missing piece she didn’t even know she was looking for.

I think a lot of kids feel that way at one point or another. They don’t quite fit in, and they haven’t yet found whatever it is they can claim as their own. I found my “thing”—volleyball—in high school. It’s what motivated me, kept me on task, and gave me purpose. But sports aren’t everyone’s thing. Neither is theater, dance, or music. Sometimes it can’t be found in classrooms, clubs, or at home.

For some kids out there, that thing can be found in a summer welding camp, like the ones hosted by the Madison Area Technical College’s Portage Campus. These camps, and others like them, give kids the chance to try things they might not get the opportunity to otherwise, and they connect kids to instructors who can help encourage them to step out of their comfort zone, pick up a torch and stick a couple of pieces of metal together, run a CNC plasma machine, see laser welding up close, or use a band saw.

By supporting organizations like Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, you can help make those camps possible for more kids around the country. They all probably won’t become welders, fabricators, or machine operators, but at least those camps give them the opportunity to try it.

Screenshot of Barbie the Welder talking with Amanda Carlson

The WELDER Editor Amanda Carlson interviews Barbie the Welder at FABTECH 2021 for The FABRICATOR Live.

For the ones who genuinely enjoy it, your contribution plays a small role in connecting them to something that will change the course of their lives and help them find fulfillment.

You can help them find their purpose.

About the Author
FMA Communications Inc.

Amanda Carlson

2135 Point Blvd

Elgin, IL 60123

815-227-8260

Amanda Carlson was named as the editor for The WELDER in January 2017. She is responsible for coordinating and writing or editing all of the magazine’s editorial content. Before joining The WELDER, Amanda was a news editor for two years, coordinating and editing all product and industry news items for several publications and thefabricator.com.