How I Work: Chí-An Benjamin De Leo, Founder & CEO, Rice Studios
Chí-An Benjamin De Leo spearheads innovative designs and solutions in his creative agency in Vietnam. Design by Barbara Cadorna.
When Chí-An Benjamin De Leo is not racing the clock during work days running the studio, he is pursuing his side passion to popularize karting in Vietnam with Infinity Racing.
Chí-An, Co-Founder & CEO of Rice Studios spearheads innovative designs and solutions in his creative agency in Vietnam. He collaborated with Uniqlo to launch Vietnam’s first two flagship stores, and recently his team designed a creative packaging solution for Trevor Sherard’s tasty chocolate treasures that was recognized by D&AD Awards.
Here, Chí-An shares how he works, including how he learned to speak four languages; why he believes that the culture of his studio demands human interaction rather than remote work; and how he squeezes in time for karting competitions.
Tavola Rontonda, a round table designed by Chí-An Benjamin De Leo for Rice Studios. Images c/o Chí-An.
Rise and Shine
I usually start the day with either a swim or a game of squash, an early morning workout energizes the rest of my day. I skip breakfast so by lunch time I’m usually starving. If I’m lucky my wife will have made me a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice before she leaves for her morning Muay Thai training session. I don’t drink coffee, I prefer not to be dependent on caffeine to get me through the day.
Work Uniform
My wardrobe is very simple. During the week, I usually wear a collarless linen shirt with chinos and a pair of white shoes. On rare days when I don’t have any external meetings, I’ll wear a t-shirt instead of the linen shirt, but the rest stays the same. Since it’s always hot in Saigon, I don’t wear layers. I get to dress up when I travel.
Chí-An is working on building his dream studio.
How I Structure My Day
My day is mostly dictated by the meetings I have scheduled for that day unfortunately. A typical day for me involves morning exercise, being in the studio by 9:30, and trying to end my workday by 6:30 so that I can be home by 7:30 for dinner. The remaining time should be dedicated to quality time with family and friends. However, as an entrepreneur, opportunities to blend quality time with business arise, so there is no rest for the wicked.
Playlist Favorites
I don’t really have playlists but I do have a vinyl collection that I’m slowly growing year by year. It’s an eclectic collection of artists from all eras. I drive to work, spending an average of one hour in the car each day. During my commute, I listen to audiobooks and subscribe to a few podcasts to stay connected with Western culture. Having spent a decade in the UK during my formative years, I try to stay informed on what’s going on over there. I grew up between Asia and Europe, and my family background is diverse: my father is Italian, my mother is French-Vietnamese, and my step-father is English. As a result, I’m proud to say I speak all four languages.
Tools of the Trade
We probably can’t function without Slack having been dependent on it since June 2015, but what I’m really excited about (and sometimes scared about) are all the new AI tools coming out. I think we should learn to embrace it and use it as a tool to power our work, but it might be too early to tell where this technology will take us.
Chí-An’s studio.
Dream Studio
I’d like to think that we’re on our way to building the dream studio. Surviving the Covid-19 days has made it quite clear that remote work just isn’t the same as having a bustling studio with impromptu discussions and direct communication. Other studios swear by efficient remote talent, but maybe the culture we’ve built here demands human interaction. Coming out of Covid-19, we renovated an old 60s villa in District 3; this is our 5th studio and in my opinion, the best one yet. We decided to invest in a space for our people since that is what it comes down to at the end of the day. Having a space where everyone can thrive is important. We have an open-plan space where we all sit together, a big meeting room, a yard at the front, a nice pantry, and a lobby space that doubles as a small gallery. We have hosted some talks, art shows, and private events and are looking forward to doing a lot more with our space.
One Unique Thing About My Work Process
I suppose my ability to wear multiple hats throughout the day. Having that flexibility of moving from a brainstorm about naming a new brand to meeting the board of directors about financial projections is becoming second nature to me, but it wasn’t always like that. The more you venture out of your comfort zone, the more opportunity you have to develop as a person. When we challenge ourselves to take on new responsibilities, we open ourselves up to new learning opportunities and developing new skills.
Mantra
Anything is possible (with a lot of hard work). This is actually one of Rice’s 10 principles.
My Brightest Idea that Never Saw the Light of Day
This idea has seen some light, but shining more light on it here might push me to complete the project. So I’m shamelessly plugging it here. A few months before my father Giulio’s passing, he gave me an archive of his original furniture designs and drawings. I sought to revive the designs by adding my own sensibility and playing with materials, joinery, and finishing techniques. I wanted to bring new life to my father’s work.
I completed one piece, a table originally designed for wood. You can find it here or on our Rice store website. I experimented with reproducing the table in steel and glass. The challenge was joining glass to steel without using any extra materials while keeping the design true to its original form. I engineered a method to join the two materials using only the base materials and gravity. Now, it’s time to bring the rest of the collection to life.
Chí-An popularizes karting in Vietnam with Infinity Driving.
To-Do List Item That Keeps Me Up At Night
There’s so much opportunity here in Vietnam, as it’s one of the fastest growing economies in the world. I have a side gig (queue plug #2) which I started a couple of years ago with four other racing enthusiasts. It doesn’t exactly keep me up at night right now but add in a slew of other ventures I’m planning and it will start to keep me up. So much to do in so little time!
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