37: Laynie Locke - Love At First Spark

In this episode, Rachel Hartman sits down with Laynie Locke, founder of Lips and Sticks Welding, at FABTECH 2025. Laynie shares how she built her brand creating fun and feminine hood decals, stickers, hats, and apparel designed to give women in welding a way to express themselves on the job.
Before welding, Laynie spent 15 years in marketing, often working with welding schools and shops. Being around the industry sparked her curiosity, and she eventually enrolled in a welding course. With a background that mixed creativity and hands-on skill, welding clicked right away. She pushed through long training days and describes striking her first arc as “love at first spark.”
As she started welding, she realized there were no hood stickers or gear that matched her style. So she made her own, which became the start of Lips and Sticks Welding. Today she blends her design background with her passion for the trade, creates gear for women across the industry, reps brands like Bocomal, and advocates for PPE built specifically for women.
Laynie’s story is creative, inspiring, and a powerful example of following your passion and building something uniquely your own.