Lauren Verdugo (they/them)

Lauren Verdugo is a non-binary Latiné artist and furniture maker from Southern California. They make functional objects out of locally sourced materials, found objects, and production waste. Lauren has a BA in Applied Design with an emphasis in Furniture Design and Woodworking from San Diego State University. They are currently in the MFA degree program at California State University Long Beach, studying Studio Art with an emphasis in Woodworking. Lauren has taught woodworking at Allied Woodshop in Los Angeles, CA, and The Maloof Foundation in Alta Loma, CA.

In 2012, Lauren started as an intern at the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts. Over time, they took on more responsibilities and in 2016, became the workshop and education assistant for the foundation's K-12 art program. The following year, Lauren apprenticed with Larry White, a master craftsman who worked closely with Sam Maloof, a renowned 20th-century studio art furniture maker. During this apprenticeship, Lauren learned to work with various materials, including ceramics, concrete, and wood, creating sculptures and custom handmade furniture. Lauren and Larry converted a wood barn on the Maloof property into an education workshop in 2018. Then, in 2020, amid the pandemic, they produced a video series on Sam Maloof's art and furniture collection within Sam and Alfreda's historic home; both projects aimed to preserve the Maloof legacy. 

Lauren's work focuses on the relationship between the natural world and human-made objects. Their art reflects the beauty and complexity of our urban environment, inspiring viewers to think more deeply about our impact on our surroundings and art's potential to connect us with our world in meaningful ways. In 2022, Lauren collaborated with Architectural Digest to create a video for their YouTube series "AD Custom Crafted." They were also a resident artist at The Grunewald Guild in Leavenworth, WA, that winter. Lauren's work was featured at the Ontario/LAX International Airport in 2020-2021. In August 2022, they launched their own studio art furniture business, Purple Stump Studios, and in Spring 2023, their work was displayed in the "This is Not a Chair" group show at the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art in Claremont, CA. Lauren had their work featured at the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles this Summer, as part of their collaboration with the Craft Video Dictionary Project; funded by the National Decorative Arts Fund. Most recently, through their partnership with UNFOLD Projects, Lauren was featured in a group show at ICA San Diego, Encinitas, which celebrates sustainable, innovative, and diverse handcrafted objects called We Must Imagine It.