Snuggle Lab

In 2015, as media coverage started to explode with tales of “professional cuddling”, Troi felt called to make sure that their  comprehensive understanding of the “politics of touch”  and many years of experience in facilitating positive touch events was at the forefront of the burgeoning snuggle scene in Eugene. Troi officially launched Snuggle Lab as their personal business and opened up the Positive Touch Meetup group as a community-building offering. Over 3 years the Positive Touch meetup grew to be on one of the largest in Eugene, with over 700 members. Troi coordinated and facilitated at least one Intro to Positive Touch Culture class and/or snuggle event every month for the first 2 years. In late 2017 a few local Ecstatic Dance DJ’s and Troi collaborated to create a ground breaking event that featured an evocative electronic dance environment with a tea lounge and a facilitated snuggle zone. It was a very popular event that regularly brought in 70-90 people.

The meetup platform, while great at attracting new folks in the area, unfortunately had some flaws that made it difficult to use for coordinating snuggle events.  In 2019 Troi decided to close the Positive Touch meetup group but hopes that a more functional system or collaborative effort will take it’s place.

Currently, Troi is calling in passionate and skilled collaborator’s interested in holding the highest-caliber, best-practice, paradigm-shifting positive touch events either in Eugene or at festivals and gatherings in Cascadia and beyond.  Troi has curated a highly-portable “fluff” system (mats, pillows, blankets) and is excited to visit other communities. Troi is particularly excited about creating another Snuggle Dance event with experienced DJ/producers

Please sign-up for the newsletter if you’d like to stay informed of future events or contact directly if you would like to collaborate.

Also visit us at: Snuggle Lab on Facebook

Curriculum Vitae:

2004 Hosted first large format snuggle party for an intentional community in Oregon.

2007 Coordinated LoveTribe’s Portland Pride Parade float and snuggle booth.

2015 Assisted LoveTribe in providing the community snuggle portion of PDX Cuddle Con (hosted by Cuddle Up To me)

2015 Studied with Kristen Reynolds of Conscious Touch NW and Shayna Luther of LoveTribe (both touch event facilitators in Portland). Formed a W. Coast Cadre with Jean Franzblau of Cuddle Sanctuary in LA and the Portland crew.

2015 Member of the consent presentation team for Beloved Music Festival – Saturday main stage focus event. Provided creative production feedback, final presentation editing, and wrote the event blurb published in the program.

2016 Completed Like A Pro with Betty Martin, developer of the Wheel of Consent. Also completed Teaching the Wheel addendum course in 2017.

2017 Member of the Beloved Music Festival Care Sanctuary Team – Assisted in staffing the care team tent where we provided workshops, 1-on-1 supports, and refuge for people processing past or current consent violations. Also part of roaming team providing energetic presence and interactions regarding role of Care Sanctuary/creating consent culture in a festival setting.

2018 Facilitated Intro to Positive Touch Culture class for the Traveling Rose fundraiser event in Portland.  Provided consent content (spoken word style!) for intimate “friend” sleep-over/dance event in Eugene, OR.

Troi’s positive touch work is also informed by their:

  • 20+ years as a direct care professional working both in Hospice and with people experiencing intellectual/developmental differences. Working with these populations highlighted how important healthy, nurturing touch is throughout our lifetimes. This natural need is not met in our touch-phobic culture that relies on  “the luck” of romantic connection for meeting people’s touch needs. Witnessing this state of affairs gave Troi the fortitude to take on radical culture change – for the sake of ALL of us that will someday be ill or dying and with, perhaps, the wish to simply be held in our time of need.
  • own experiences with societal stigma’s against those with larger bodies, diverse gender expressions, mental/physical health issues and cultural norms that keep us ignorant of how we exchange our sexuality in order to get our touch needs met. ALL people, in ALL types of bodies, and ALL types of presentations deserve safe, nurturing touch.
  • deep desire to reclaim BODY SOVEREIGNTY for ALL of us and SHIFTING our culture from one that tolerates and condones rape and boundary violations to one that respects everyone’s right to be safe and free in their bodies. This includes fighting to change over-reaching laws that mistakenly seek to control what consenting adults do with other consenting adults.

Join Troi in the consent (r)evolution and in bringing access to healthy, nurturing, platonic touch to the people! THIS REVOLUTION WILL HAVE PILLOWS!  🙂