We recently connected with Lauren Verdugo and have shared our conversation below.
Lauren, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
In 2020, the giant Holly Oak tree that stood in front of the Whittier Central Library had to be removed for the library’s scheduled full historic restoration/expansion. The tree was saved by the Whittier Conservancy in the hopes it would be used by local artists to be able to put the wood back into the community. Major shoutout to Helen Rahder and David Dickerson for their years of dedication to save this particular historic tree! The Whittier Conservancy soon after approached me to design a set of children’s stools that utilized the brilliantly grained oak for the brand new expanded children’s section. After working through the challenges of the rebellious local urban wood, I had the honor of seeing folks who grew up reading under the Holly Oak with their own kids who could now sit on the stools I made from the same beautiful tree. As a studio art furniture maker, it is a privilege to be able to translate the stories wood is waiting eagerly to reveal, if only we took the time to examine what the wood says about us as they live alongside us in our urban forest.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a non-binary, queer artist and furniture maker based out of Whittier, CA and am currently a graduate student in the MFA program at Cal State University Long Beach. I received my AA in Arts and Humanities from Chaffey College in 2017 and in 2021, completed my BA in Applied Design at San Diego State University with an emphasis in Furniture Design and Woodworking. I am currently an instructor at Allied Woodshop and Would Works, both in Los Angeles, CA. I also launched my own studio art furniture business called Purple Stump Studios in August 2022.
I was raised in a home full of antiques that my mom collected since she was 17. I believe that left a dormant interest and reverence for handmade furniture that would later be ignited by volunteering at a historic home full of beautiful handmade objects. After a handful of years of working at The Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts as an intern just out of high school, an opportunity arose to join a workshop with Larry White, Sam Maloof’s first employee. That first woodworking experience happened in October of 2016. I spent the next 6-8 months asking Larry if he needed help in his studio. He finally gave in and a single summer turned into nearly 4 years of an incredible apprenticeship. He taught me everything that Sam Maloof passed onto him, along with the gained experience of helping him create his metal, ceramic, and sculpturally explorative furniture projects. Obviously, since 2016, I haven’t looked back as woodworking took over my life.
My work ranges from furniture to sculpture with no limitations on mixing media. Found objects, steel, wood and cardboard are all in constant experimentation. I have displayed my work at the Ontario International Airport in Ontario, CA in 2021 and in March 2022 worked with Architectural Digest to create a video for their YouTube series, “AD Custom Crafted. Most recently, I was lucky to be included in Craft in America’s forthcoming Craft Video Dictionary project funded by The Decorative Arts Trust, which will be video explanations of common craft terminology ranging from fiber arts to ceramics and woodworking. The hope is for these videos to make craft more accessible and inform the average museum goer, through a scannable QR code on the wall, of what craft processes took place in regard to the piece they are looking at.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I think that because I was able to gain more of an apprenticeship based foundation of woodworking, I have a sense of urgency in making sure I keep studio art furniture alive and pass along everything I have learned as I continue on my journey. Working with your hands in any way seems to be a common lost art in our modern lives but I do believe there is an arts and crafts renaissance on the horizon. Whenever I hold a tool that was passed on to me or even start a new project, I feel the presence of everyone who has ever taught me something right alongside me offering a perspective as I contemplate various steps of a woodworking process. Creating handmade objects is uniquely human and I believe there is a profound experience of fulfillment in making art that you cannot find in any other aspect of life.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
One of my biggest pet peeves is strangers commenting on “how nice it must be to get to make art/furniture for a living”. Especially when they think you are essentially a DIY weekend warrior or hobbyist. As many other artists and small business owner knows, it is a rigorous and oftentimes painstaking journey to finally see any fruits of your labor. Woodworking is meditative and rewarding but it is also full of major financial investments in equipment, not to mention the years of education I went through to be able to make custom handmade furniture. With the current cost of raw materials along with the expectation of IKEA prices, getting clients who understand the real cost of materials combined with the labor involved to create a handmade object from scratch are hard to find.
For me, creating with wood is an impulse, I have to be making something and cannot sustain sitting in front of a computer for the rest of my life. I am much happier being sore and tired after woodworking, aka doing what I love, over being sore and tired from a job that I know is not fulfilling.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://laurenverdugo.com/
- Instagram: @laurenverdoodles
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/iP9QsvBCz-g
- Other: https://alliedwoodshop.com/ https://www.wouldworks.com/ https://www.malooffoundation.org/
Image Credits
Thomas Bostick