Rising Stars: Meet Ben Rousseau of Manhattan Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Rousseau.

Hi Ben, so excited to have you on the platform. Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like.

I grew up In Englands  oldest recorded town of Colchester where queen Bodicea contoured the Roman army, it has a  2000 year old castle and cobbled streets, as a kid I just didn’t appreciate history and was  fascinated by James bond and sci fi films like blade runner and star wars and all i remember was  that i had a burning hunger to shape the future somehow, I’ve always had an enthusiastic and  energetic creative imagination and I’d dream about designing futuristic cars and cool spaces like  i’d seen in those films, anything as far removed from the old cobbled streets of back home. 

I left art college and went into model making and film special effects which fuelled my hunger for  creating fantasy things, allowing me to experiment with materials and machines, I realised the  industry was really moving into CGI and I was just getting started with physical materials so I was  a bit disappointed, I then spent a lot of time DJ’ing at uni parties etc and making props for my  gigs, which was then I discovered my secret ingredient that i use in my work to this day. And that  is lighting, I could turn a crappy night club into an atmospheric space with some very simple  lighting effects. 

I now have an art and design studio which I‘ve had since 2001 and has blessed me with being  able to work on interesting projects all over the world, I’ve built artist suites at the Ice Hotel in  Arctic Sweden, I’ve built viewing platforms at Burning Man for Art Cars to dock at, I’ve created  sculptures in New York, and represented the UK at the world fire sculpture competition, I’ve  designed houses for serious tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and worked on stately homes in  the UK. I regularly exhibit my lighting artworks and time pieces in various places, such as Geneva,  Dubai and even have some locally in Malibu at Fred Segal Home store. I’m currently between  Manhattan beach and Brighton / Hove on the south coast of the UK, as have been doing quite a  bit of artwork with F1 parts I’ve been showing at Silverstone recently which is cool. 

Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?

No it definitely hasn’t been easy, I started the business with no clear plan, more of an enthusiastic  kid with big ideas and some great contacts and an unstoppable drive to make cool stuff, this tends  to mean the business can lead you and by that I mean certain opportunities arise and you either  turn them down and be strict and focus on one clear path or you take what comes and run with it. I  love the creative challenge but I can mean I’m working on many completely different projects at  once which can be pretty complicated and taxing on the brain, right now I have a modern clock  collection, furniture collections, artworks, a project building mobile photo booths in old airstream  trailers and some public sculptures for a charity for people who have lost a baby, so very diverse  but all very interesting and use the same principles of how light and energy work with materials and form to create an engaging and exciting experience. 

We’d love to learn more about your work. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what  are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others? 

I create unique functional artworks and modern designs that are statement pieces for commercial  venues and luxury homes, I’m best know for my use of lighting and highly engineered form in my  work to create dramatic pieces that have connection with people. 

I’m probably most proud of my Tempus illuminated clock collection where I’m trying to change our  experience with time, making us appreciate living in the moment, the world is so hectic and busy  and I want my clocks to be a visual reminder to take a few breaths and calmly watch the time go by  to lower the heart rate and remember to look after yourself.  

what sets me apart is my need for connection with my users, my timepieces are almost hypnotic  where they relax you and entice you just stare, my work is about having an experience and one  that really is a calming and gentle caress of the mind, not more hectic madness there is enough of  that in the world already. 

How do you define success?

If I’m doing work that gives me a buzz, is making people happy and I’m getting paid for it and able  to live an enjoyable life outside of work, like taking my son out dirt biking in the desert or doing  yoga with my wife on the beach, then I’m fairly successful. Of course I’d like to think there is some  recognition with my design piers about the sort of work I create and it being at a certain cool level,  but does that make you successful I don’t know. I’ve won a few awards, I have some fantastic  clients and I get to meet and work with great people so I guess to an extent I am successful! 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.benrousseau.com
• Instagram: @ben_rousseau_studio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenRousseauStudio/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@benrousseaustudio