Houston's first textile lab and entrepreneurship center had its grand opening May 21 to help address the challenges faced in the Gulfton and Sharpstown neighborhoods, according to a May 15 news release.

What you need to know

Fabric Forge is located in Southwest Houston's Gulfton and Sharpstown area, often called the city's "Ellis Island" for its long history of welcoming immigrants and refugees, according to the news release. However, the neighborhood has a poverty rate of 44%, with residents facing significant barriers to upward mobility.

Connect Community, a non-profit organization working to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty in the Gulfton and Sharpstown neighborhoods, said the opening of Fabric Forge hopes to address these challenges by expanding access to opportunity for underserved communities, while supporting the city's broader economic growth by developing a skilled workforce to meet the demands of modern manufacturing.

“Fabric Forge is where community and innovation meet," said Anne Whitlock, executive director of Connect Community. "We’re turning a traditionally overlooked skill into a 21st-century opportunity—connecting talent from our neighborhood with Houston’s growing innovation economy."


According to the news release, the textile industry serves as a "vital gateway" into advanced manufacturing, offering career pathways, family-sustaining wages and versatile skills applicable across multiple industries.

What they offer

The 9,000-square-foot facility offers numerous programming and year-round training for learning essential skills in industrial sewing, soft goods design, financial literacy and social entrepreneurship.
  • Industrial sewing job training: Learn in-demand skills for career in manufacturing and production
  • Digital & financial literacy classes: Build confidence in today's tech-driven economy
  • Entrepreneurship workshops: Gain the tools to start and grow your own small business
  • White-label production space: Support small-batch manufacturing for local makers
  • Micro-retail storefronts: Six incubator spaces for emerging social entrepreneurs
  • Sewing classes for youth and adults
  • Event space (1,500 square-foot): Can be used for host meetings, retreats or celebration
Connect Highstar apartments is the first newly housing development in the Gulfton and Sharpstown neighborhood in over 40 years. (Courtesy Connect Community)
Connect Highstar apartments is the first new housing development in the Gulfton and Sharpstown neighborhood in over 40 years. (Courtesy Connect Community)
What else?

Fabric Forge is inside the Connect Highstar apartments, the first new housing development in the Gulfton and Sharpstown neighborhood in over 40 years, according to the news release. The housing development offers 77 affordable housing units for families earning at or below 80% of the Area Median Income. Units range from one to three bedrooms, and include granite countertops, tiled bathrooms and in-unit washers and dryers.