Meet Tristan Stein: Teacher, Welder, Artist, 'Metalmonger', oh, and AWESOME!

“The picture unfolding as we chat is one of Rosie the Riveter, laughing in the face of the constructed boundaries between motherhood and men’s work, unfazed by the roles traditionally assigned according to gender.” -Sarah Cook

Tristan Stein, dressed up in her Personal Protective Equipment and ready to weld for the day.

By Sarah Cook

Tristan Stein, currently enrolled in the Manufacturing & Fabrication program at Columbia Gorge Community College, has a ‘65 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia sitting in her garage.

With rounded lines that mimic its well-known cousin (the iconic slug bug), these cars have a slightly more elongated and sophisticated build. But their fenders are notorious for holding water, which means, as Tristan explains, they rust easily—and a lot.

“I like to do a lot of DIY stuff, I don’t know if you can tell,” Tristan states, and her words are immediately followed by expansive laughter that induces my own.

“I decided I’d really like to have the skills to replace this type of thing,” she said.

We’re laughing because, by this point in the conversation, she’s already told me the following: she’s a licensed massage therapist, a commissioned welder, a home-owner who works on everything from gardening to flooring, a self-described “metalmonger,” a credentialed graphic designer, and a homeschooling mother of four (four!) children, whose ages range from 8 to 16 years old.

So, of course, she knows how to repair and replace the fender of her 1965 Karmann Ghia.

She traces her strong motivations around learning and self-sufficiency back to 2014 when she purchased her house and “everything congealed.” Suddenly the opportunities to fix, finish and upgrade were not just fun chances to pick up new skills, but necessities for her and her family—who help out, of course, “when it’s not dangerous.”

The longer we talk, the farther back the timeline goes. She purchased her Karmann Ghia in 2010, which sparked a particular desire around self-reliance and mechanical enterprise. But she goes on to describe a strong will that has accompanied her throughout her entire life, and includes the simple but profound mantra: “I can do it.”

The picture unfolding as we chat is one of Rosie the Riveter, laughing in the face of the constructed boundaries between motherhood and men’s work, unfazed by the roles traditionally assigned according to gender. A licensed massage therapist and owner of Metalmonger Fabrication, Tristan’s handiwork spans all bodies—from auto to human—and challenges the supposed distinction between creativity and functionality.

“Warming back up with stick welding before attempting to work in overhead position.”]

“I came up with the name [Metalmonger Fabrication] while brainstorming with a friend. We came across the word ‘monger,’ and the original definition is someone who works in a specific commodity. Since I'm working with all kinds of metals I tried out the name Metalmonger and really liked it. The fabrication portion comes from what I'm doing with the metal: creating parts and assembling them together to create another object.”

At CGCC, Tristan is nearing the end of her first year in a two-year program, which upon graduating will provide her with an Associate of Arts and Sciences degree. When she signed up for her first welding class, she didn’t know the endeavor would come this far. “I’ve always wanted to learn welding,” she states, noting that she reached out to instructor Robert Wells-Clark with her desire to enroll about 5 weeks after the 2021 fall term had already started, meaning she had to get her enrollment cleared through the dean.

Despite being a last-minute enrollee who simply had the desire to learn something new, she’s already picked up numerous markers of success, including commissions.

Her friend and new local business owner, Amanda Polehn, reached out to Tristan casually to see if she might “do something with her logo.” Now Amanda’s shop, Starseed Curiosities and Gifts, boasts what can only be described as a beautiful and intricate art piece hung behind the register, a golden circle like an album, replete with ornate lettering and lunar details.

The Dalles now has its own local, ethically-sourced rock shop, owned and operated by lifelong The Dalles resident, Amanda Polehn. Tristan’s metalwork can be seen in the background.

“I created this driveway gate for a client. The dimensions of each door are approximately 4 feet by 7.75 feet,” said Tristan.

“I like learning stuff, and it was just another way to go learn things,” Tristan states of her mindset when she signed up for that first welding class. “I had gone through some household changes,” she adds, indicating a certain flavor of motivation; she also shares that during times of recession, the demand for her massage therapy services can fluctuate, again linking her creative motivations and curiosities back to self-sufficiency and skill-building. Learning to weld was a tangible way to add another tool to her toolbelt, she states, likely intending the pun.

Grinding off mill scale as well as bringing the edges of the gate flush for the finished product.

When asked about her ultimate vision for Metalmonger Fabrication, she describes with clarity and enthusiasm the drive to do repairs around the community, including offering direct services to local farmers: “I’d like to be able to provide mobile welding, to go out and help repair equipment” in the field, she says, while continuing to do custom pieces and commissions, like the driveway gate and the Starseed business sign.

Welding and fabrication work are more than just hard physical labor. Near the end of fall term, her class started creating designs on the computer that could be transferred onto their CNC Plasma Cutting Table. Whether Tristan is describing a project born of a commission or her own mind, something that might be termed a piece of art or a household necessity, all of her work seems to exist at the intersection of functioning handmade items and creative outlets.

“You’re saving yourself a lot of money in the long-run being able to do these things yourself,” she states of her handiwork in general. But it’s clear that the artistry involved in her pursuits, and the ability to customize a vision brought from the two-dimensional world into the 3-D one, is just as vital.

“We’re given a lot of creative freedom for things we want to do,” she states of her classroom experience, reiterating multiple times her admiration for their instructor, who regularly connects students with local opportunities for community-based projects. At this point, our conversation naturally veers toward one of the questions I’d been waiting to ask: what is her experience like as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field?

“We do talk about it,” she notes, referring to herself and her female peers. Questions pop up—“do you guys feel like this is something you’ve had an experience with?”—and she hears talk of the rampant and well-documented struggles women face through a “women in welding” Facebook group she belongs to.

“I have felt like in the program I’ve been in, the guys are extremely respectful and extremely helpful. Robert is so patient with everybody. I just feel really fortunate that these are my classmates.” She goes on to describe a level of support so multifaceted that it’s not clear if her experience in this field—the kind of experience that all women and female-identifying students should be afforded—can be attributed to her remarkable classmates, her outstanding teacher, or a broader culture of inclusivity at the college itself—perhaps all of the above. “There’s no drama. We brainstorm together really well. Everybody is really rooting for each other.” Tristan notes that women make up 50% of the students enrolled in the Manufacturing and Fabrication program at this time, adding that “you can still be emotional if you need to” in that space.

I had two final questions for Tristan before we ended our dynamic conversation. First, I wanted to know what advice she would offer to young girls curious about these types of fields.

“I’d love to be able to be someone at these career fairs that shows young women, yeah, you can do it too!” Tristan notes a particular stigma around working with such powerful machines and heavy equipment, which can be seen as “scary and daunting,” and likely contribute to the gendered stereotypes.

“I think my advice is, ‘don’t be afraid to just try.’ It’s the same advice I’d give my kids. There’s no harm in pursuing these things because you never know what’s going to click and really resonate with you. Whether it’s a male-dominated field or not, I feel like that’s been my mantra about a lot of things; you might absolutely hate something, but you might just really love it.”

Then I asked Tristan (yes, somewhat facetiously) my final question: Was there anything else she was excited to learn but hadn’t yet?

Her answer came immediately: “SCUBA diving.”

She shares a few additional details—that it first came across her radar during a trip in North Carolina—and at the moment I’m expecting to hear something about swimming with sharks and stingrays, maybe dolphins. She manages to surprise me with the least surprising reveal: It’s the underwater shipwrecks that she can’t wait to get closer to.

To stay up-to-date on Tristan's work through Metalmonger Fabrication, follow her on Instagram and Facebook. She can be reached directly for inquiries and commissions by calling 503-880-7050, or via email at metalmongerfabrication@gmail.com.

Jon Keyser

This story is sponsored by :

The Dalles Iron Works

Welding, Machining & Fabrication Since 1905 at 720 E. 2nd St., The Dalles.

Jon Keyser and his crew can solve your problems big or small, ranging from the manufacture of ornate iron gates to repairing heavy equipment. His team includes wife Holly and son Jon Jr. who have spent years dedicating themselves to community good, most notably on the Dufur Volunteer Fire & Ambulance.