Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Ben McCarthy graduated Industrial Design from the University of New South Wales in 2003. A year later, the British Council facilitated his move to the United Kingdom, where he worked in the Tom Dixon studio. In 2007, Ben relocated to Hong Kong, where he began to work with design legend Michael Young.
In 2010, Ben established Charlie & Rose, a one-man studio in Hong Kong named after his grandparents. Years later, Charlie & Rose has designed almost every other destination eatery of note in the city — designing ‘it’ restaurants like Linguini Fini, Brickhouse, Stone Nullah Tavern, Fish & Meat, and K-Town Bar & Grill, to name a few places.
“His style is notably more cinematic than others, with the ability to offer high design solutions, without forgetting the need to have fun, and keep it rough around the edges, ” writes JJ Acuna.
Over the years, Ben's designs have received several awards and his work has been granted support by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and the Green Building Council of Australia. He has hosted a solo show at the Object Gallery in Sydney, and his work has been featured in exhibitions in Tokyo, Milan, Hong Kong, London, and beyond.
Ben recently collaborated with Innermost, producing the Lateralis lamp, which won a German Design Award in 2016: Special Mention for Excellent Product Design.
“Artisan crafted glass seems to pour upwards and outwards following the breath of the glass blowing artist, producing a honey-coloured dome with a similar syrupy consistency, ” explains the Innermost website. “The light collects in a pool of dark timber below. At the heart of the table light, dark ripples of wood reflect off of polished brass. ”