Lauren Verdugo

Lauren is a South­ern Cali­for­nia based artist and wood­worker. She received her AA in Arts and Human­i­ties from Chaffey College in 2017 and in 2021, completed her BA in Applied Design at San Diego State Univer­sity with an empha­sis in Furni­ture Design and Woodworking.

Start­ing in 2012, she served as a “Maloof Teen” Intern and quickly became the Art Educa­tion Assis­tant at the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foun­da­tion for Arts and Crafts. In 2016, Lauren added work­shop assis­tant to her title. Since 2017, she has worked as an appren­tice to master crafts­man Larry White, Sam Maloof’s first employee circa 1962. She now leads women's workshops at The Maloof Foundation. She is a recip­i­ent of a 2020 Cali­for­nia Arts Council grant, an Art Council Award from the School of Art and Design at San Diego State University, and has been featured in various South­ern Cali­for­nia based art publi­ca­tions includ­ing Wood­worker West Magazine and Curious Publishing.

During the pandemic, Lauren worked with Esther Cho to create FS Students, an extension of FS Connects, for students to have an online community as well as resources to assist them in applying for opportunities.

Follow Lauren on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenverdoodles/