Compulsory Podcast Special Burrito Bulletin: Lauren Venell

Lauren Venell is an artist and designer specializing in editorial props and product development. Her work has been published in titles by Chronicle Books, Klutz/Scholastic, Uppercase, Monsa Books and Quarry Books, among others, and featured in several media outlets including The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Everyday with Rachel Ray and on Canal+ Television. She has launched several of her own successful toy lines including her current line, the Deep Creeps, which can be found in stores across the globe.

In addition to her creative work, Lauren speaks at events about small business financial topics. She has aired two bookkeeping classes through Creative Live and contributes in-depth small business articles to several creative blogs, including design*sponge and Craftzine. From 2009-2011, she co-founded and programmed the Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs. Lauren lives in San Francisco with her husband, her daughter and an ornery parrotlet named Elvis.

I spoke with Lauren at Craftcation Conference in March, 2015. A couple of days after our interview, the human-size burrito costume she told me about was picked up by some huge websites and went viral. That's why this episode is out before the second season of Compulsory has started. It's a stand-alone Special Burrito Bulletin for all you burrito-obsessed people out there.

Because of the huge amount of attention the burrito is sending her way, Lauren tells me that the contact form on her website isn't working. If you need to reach Lauren during this particular time of burrito virulence, she kindly requests that you do so via social media (see below).

Relevant Links:

• Lauren's website, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
• THE BURRITO
• Sticker mandalas
• Deep Creeps