Meet Erica Lee of Ann Arbor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Lee

Hi Erica, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I was a kid I really enjoyed playing with marble tracks, hot wheels, and dominoes. In 2007, I discovered chain reaction and domino videos on YouTube, and wanted to try it out myself. I combined all of the toys I had together to create chain reactions, then filmed them in action and started posting videos on YouTube. In 2013, a producer from America’s Got Talent found my videos and asked me to audition; I ended up making it all the way to the quarterfinals. Afterwards, I started to have businesses reach out to me to create custom chain reactions for social media, film & tv, and live events. I started planning and building these projects for clients, and I subcontract and lead other artists for larger scale builds. By the time I finished studying mechanical engineering at Michigan State in 2016, I felt that I had enough work coming in to build chain reactions full time, and it’s been my profession ever since then. I now have nearly 100 million views on YouTube, have broken 4 domino related Guinness World Records (largest circle field, longest wall, largest 2D pyramid, and most cereal boxes toppled as dominoes), and I was a judge and producer and Fox’s reality competition show, Domino Masters.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As a freelance artist, the major struggle starting out was bringing in enough work to maintain job security. Building chain reactions for a huge variety of different purposes helped me build up my portfolio and allowed potential clients to easily see related projects I’ve done. I would reinvest a lot back into more materials, improving my workspace, and hosting portfolio projects with other artists that were viral video attempts, such as The Lemonade Machine, my most viewed video. Having sufficient space to build in and store materials was also a challenge. I lived in San Diego from 2016-2022 and would frequently drive all of my materials to LA to build projects in film studios for brands, but in order to continue creating successful videos online, my builds kept getting larger in scale. I moved back to Michigan in 2023 and converted a 3 car garage into a home studio, and now I continue to pursue more ambitious builds.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I create domino art and elaborate chain reaction machines that complete a simple objective at the end. I am proud of complicated and unexpected tricks that amaze the viewers. My builds are different from others because I put great importance in making sure the action is easy to follow and understand for the viewers. Not many have attempted chain reactions that have as many steps or are as large in scale as the projects I create.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I enjoy spending time with my wife Connie and our pets, Sushi (cat) and Ramen (dog). Having my own business gives me flexibility with my schedule and my home studio allows me to work from home the majority of the time so I have a good work-life balance. I adjust my working hours to match my wife’s and I play frisbee with my dog every day when I take a break for lunch. I also love to travel, hike, rock climb, play hockey, and go to EDM shows & festivals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.spricemachines.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spricemachines/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/spricemachines
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@spricemachines?lang=en