Taheerah Atchia

Hey everyone! Happy Friday! And welcome to the next in the series of  #FollowFriday!

Those of you who are avid Twitter users may be familiar with the term ‘Follow Friday’ or #FF. In a nutshell, people take to Twitter with the hashtag #FF to promote other users they suggest you follow. It’s a great little way to give people a shout-out and for a while now I’ve wanted to introduce a similar idea in blog form! It’s going to be an awesome way for me to give a shout-out to other designers I think *you* should be following if you don’t already do so!

I’ll be bringing you this feature every Friday and highlighting around 5 designers worthy of a special mention! It’s going to be so awesome!

So without further ado, may I present this week’s #FF designers:

Laura Bassen – Doublestick Heaven

Oh my, where do I even begin? There are stars… and then there are shooting stars. Laura definitely falls under the latter category, but unlike that celestial phenomenon she has an enduring increase in Magnitude rather than a brief blaze of glory. Anything that is worth doing on a card, Laura can do. She is an absolute superstar with all techniques. Her stamping is more precise than a sniper’s shooting. Her designs push the envelope of trendy. I mean, she made plaid trendy. Plaid. Browse her crafting resumé and you’ll see it littered with big name DTs and that’s without mentioning her numerous publications and powerhouse output. Look closer and you’ll see the real kicker – the dates of those DT terms. She’s accomplished more in this space in two years than most of us can hope for in a decade or perhaps even an entire career. And yet she continues to be the same down-to-earth goofball with a big heart, a very real life and a totally crazy family. I guess the last thing I’ll say is this: Laura is the Austin Powers of the crafting world – DTs and companies want her, and we all want to be her.

Lorena Cantó – Patterned Papered Dreams

Lorena’s work reads like a ‘What’s What’ of trends. From the most unlikely colour combo, to the latest ‘In’ embellishment, she manages to take every bit in her stride and create something utterly fabulous with it. This is a girl who is never afraid to experiment, and boy does it pay off. From challenge wins to her many, many publications (seriously, her output and success rate is incredible), this girl shows us just how effective a combination of skill and hard work can be. Don’t visit her blog expecting to see a ‘typical’ style – what you will find instead is a plethora of inspiration from the big and bold to the soft and serene, and almost everything in between. And that is why I keep going back, over and over again.

Maria Fischer – Rieslingmama

Some designs move me to babble and rave like a mad lunatic – and others leave me catatonic, sat in stunned silence, unable to do anything other than stare. Maria has the incredible gift of rendering both of these states in me. Her execution is absolutely *perfect* and her keen sense of design is evident in everything she creates. Her techniques are flawless. Her challenge cards are a complete masterpiece – she really does rise to the nature of the word! Her colours range from bright pops of neon to washes of pure gentle gorgeousness, and she embraces and drinks in trends like they were water. Her work has literally moved me though an entire spectrum of emotions. That is what great artists do.

Wida Miller – Beachorado

A real-life crafting Cinderella story, complete with the trademark Happy Ending, Wida’s designs, and perhaps even more so, her creative journey leave me nothing short of inspired. Here is a girl who can be almost cripplingly analytical and critical with her work, but instead of letting that consume her she has used it to fuel and infuse her work with beauty and purpose. And she really needn’t be so hard on herself in the slightest. Her work, sometimes trendy, sometimes classic, sometimes whimsical, *always* special, has won fans across the spectrum of our industry – and with good cause. Wida not only channels good design, she knows and can spot it from 50ft and can dissect, catalogue, experiment and own it in a way only she can. I have had the privilege to see her grow and evolve as a designer quicker than I thought possible, and, having just landed her dream gig with none other than Crate Paper, I would say she has come of age with style, grace – and maybe even a little drama thrown in too, just for good measure.

Meredith MacRitchie – A Delightful Waste of Time

Completing our complement this week is the lady who takes it to the next level. Or perhaps that should be the next layer. Meredith’s masterpieces echo almost oceanic depths of colour, layering and stamping. They look like A2-sized works of art. Her attention to detail is flabbergasting, her execution peerless. Meredith’s creations demonstrate just how much love and effort she invests in her work, and taking a graceful meander through her blog will show you just how great a grounding she has in principles of design. Whilst quick and clean cards might be all the rage, perhaps stopping to smell the flowers is something we all should experiment with if it can yield results even half as good as hers.

So there we are folks – your Follow Fridays for this week!! Give them a cheer!! Please do stop by their blogs and follow them, give them some love, stare in awe, then come away inspired to try a million new things! I’ve also set up a special Pinterest Board to keep track of all my #FollowFriday featured designers!

I hope you love this new feature of mine – I would love some feedback on it! Thanks so much for stopping by – I would love it if you left some love for these ladies as you head on your way!