Speaker: Brice Porter, Men’s Textile Collective Foundation

While the textile industry has long recognized crafting as a relaxing hobby, the Men's Textile Collective Foundation (MTCF) is elevating fiber arts into a targeted clinical and social tool for mental health, fine motor development and rehab, and neurodivergent care. By breaking the gender stigma surrounding fiber arts, MTCF positions men at the forefront of a movement that treats crafting not as passive self-care, but as an active, tactile intervention for complex mental health challenges and youth neurodevelopment. 

This presentation outlines MTCF’s mission to transform how industry leaders view their end-users, shifting the narrative from mere consumers of craft supplies to active participants in preventive, accessible mental health care.