Meet La Ru: the Seattle based designer, illustrator, and artist behind Robot vs Sloth.

Behind the Name

La Ru comes from the first two letters of my first and last name: Lauren Rudeck. LaRuDio is a reference to my art studio, La Ru Studio: LaRuDio.

About La Ru

I own Robot vs Sloth in the Pike Place Market. Robot vs Sloth showcases my work along with a curated selection of Seattle artists.

I enjoy drawing cute animals and robots doing typically human things like going camping, exploring the moon, and going for hikes on Mt. Rainier. I have been published numerous publications and blogs including The Handmade Marketplace, Second Edition and Seattle's Child. I have also created crafting tutorials for Sakura of America and Epson. In 2014 and 2015 I was a speaker at Craftcation Conference in Ventura, CA, where I taught classes like How to Hire an Employee, Working with Resin, Cross Stitch, Beginning Embroidery, and sat on a panel discussion about How to Open a Brick and Mortar Shop.

Living in downtown Seattle and owning a shop in the Pike Place Market makes me passionate about my community. I currently sit on the Market Historic Commission as a business owner commissioner, a position appointed by the Mayor and City Council. Every year I host Bunny Party!, a fundraiser to raise money for the Seattle Animal Shelter and Special Bunny Rescue. 

History of La Ru

In 2008, I started a craft group that would meet monthly and pick a material that we had never worked with and teach ourselves how to use it. One craft night we picked resin and I fell in love. We made scrabble tile necklaces with magazines. It was fun, but I hated sticking to such a defined size and using other people's artwork....so with some experimentation I figured out how to work with clay, resin, and my own hand drawn images to create pendants.

Shortly after I started selling at local craft shows. At one show I overheard a group of guys saying "there's never anything for men at these shows." After hearing that I expanded my product line to include belt buckles and cuff links; they were a hit. My product line eventually expanded to prints, t-shirts, and now DIY kits based off of my illustrations.

In October of 2012 I opened a brick and mortar shop in Pike Place Market called Ugly Baby and La Ru. After five years at my Western Avenue location, I decided to relocate and open Robot vs Sloth (opened January of 2018) on First and Pine in the historic Pike Place Market.