Lauren Verdugo

Lauren, they/​them, is a South­ern Cali­for­nia based artist and furni­ture maker. They received their AA in Arts and Human­i­ties from Chaffey College in 2017 and in 2021, completed their BA in Applied Design at San Diego State Univer­sity with an empha­sis in Furni­ture Design and Wood­work­ing. Lauren is an instruc­tor at both The Maloof Foun­da­tion in Alta Loma, CA and Allied Wood­shop in Los Angeles, CA. After 6 years of being in the field, Lauren launched their own studio art furni­ture busi­ness called Purple Stump Studios in August 2022. 

Start­ing in 2012, they served as both a ​“Maloof Teen” Intern and Art Educa­tion Assis­tant at the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foun­da­tion for Arts and Crafts. In 2016, Lauren added work­shop assis­tant to their title. In 2017, they started work as an appren­tice to master crafts­man Larry White, Sam Maloof’s first employee circa 1962. 

Lauren’s work ranges from furni­ture to sculp­ture with no limi­ta­tions on mixing media. Found objects, steel, wood and card­board are all in constant exper­i­men­ta­tion. They are a recip­i­ent of a 2020 Cali­for­nia Arts Council grant, an Art Council Award from the School of Art and Design at SDSU, and has been featured in various South­ern Cali­for­nia based art publi­ca­tions includ­ing Wood­worker West Maga­zine and Curious Publish­ing. Lauren was also featured in the Shaping Wood, Shaping Artists exhibit at the Chaffey Commu­nity Museum of Art in January 2020 and displayed their work most recently at the Ontario Inter­na­tional Airport in Ontario, CA. During the pandemic, Lauren co-created an online student plat­form with artist/​maker Esther Cho through The Furni­ture Society, a national educa­tion based non-profit, to provide resources, discus­sions, and commu­nity for craft students across the country.