Rhody Makers: Ben & Aja Blanc

In Providence, we have the very good luck to be surrounded by talented artists and designers who, drawn to the Rhode Island School of Design from all over the world, settle in our capital city after graduation. The country’s smallest state has real appeal for curious and creative people who find a welcoming community here. Ben and Aja Blanc, who met in a graduate program at RISD, now run a widely renowned design business based in the Jewelry District, fueled by the chemistry they found here, and in each other.

Aja grew up in Washington State. While working at a museum in Seattle after college graduation, she met a RISD graduate she deeply admired. Although she’d never heard of the art school, her graphic designer colleagues gushed about its stellar reputation, and she began to consider moving across the country to attend a graduate program here. Ben, who grew up in Illinois, credits meeting Aja as the best part of attending RISD. One of their first collaborations, Half Moon Mirror, revealed their creative potential as a couple, and they haven’t looked back since. The mirror has been hung worldwide and continues to receive glowing reviews.

The Blancs were charmed by Rhode Island. “Why wouldn’t you stay in Providence?” Ben asks. “So much room to breathe, a really great community of creatives and a solid community willing to share knowledge. And the beaches aren’t bad, either.” They live and work in the Jewelry District and relish exploring the RISD Museum. For Ben, the museum’s monumental Japanese Buddha Mahavairocana is a must-see, while Aja is drawn to Etruscan vessels in the antiquities galleries. Their investment in the local community has borne fruit: the couple is responsible for the luxe interior of the Café Pearl at the RISD Museum, a collaboration with local favorites Bolt Coffee named after one of the museum’s longest serving docents, Pearl Nathan.

The two draw from a wide range of design influences (many of whom can be seen in the RISD Museum’s collection), such as Louise Bourgeois, Ray Eames, Meret Oppenheim, and Donald Judd. For contemporary furniture and design, Aja recommends New York’s The Future Perfect and Los Angeles’ GARDE; locally, she loves Covet & Lou in Newton, Massachusetts. Aja also suggests typing “weird” in front of nearly any functional object in the eBay search field to see what unexpected beauty might turn up.

These days, the couple is at work on a one-of-a-kind series of mirrors, exploring the concepts of reflection and color through painted and antiqued surfaces, silk fibers and horsehair, and mottled textures juxtaposing reflective and translucent material. A recent collaboration with the Paris-based Venet Foundation has allowed the couple to work with artist Yves Klein’s famous ultramarine pigment, International Klein Blue, melding art history with future design. The two have launched lines of light fixtures – delicious experiments in texture and light – and furniture pieces that are both striking experiments in formalism and appealing home furnishings. Their academic background at RISD launched this stellar trajectory; Rhode Island’s creative community, and beach air, fuel its growth. Learn more at BenAndAjaBlanc.com