SUITCASE regulars will already be familiar with Sophy Roberts‘
incredible way with words. The British author and travel
journalist’s illustrious career has seen her reporting on stories
from around the world for an array of renowned publications,
including a feature in SUITCASE Vol. 31: The Freedom Issue. Her recently published
debut book, The Lost Pianos of Siberia, charts the writer
as she hunts for pianos of eras past across the icy expanses of
Russia. Follow her on Instagram as she adventures across distant
territories, from Chad to Siberia, and catch up with her
thoughtful interviews with travellers, photographers and activists.
Prepare for her wanderlust to inspire you every time you open your
phone.

Follow her: @sophy_roberts

Laura
Hope Lloyd’s first job, hand-etching portraits onto
gravestones, honed her skills for capturing likenesses – something
the Oxford-based artist now puts to good use creating
vintage-inspired illustrations and striking portraiture for leading
brands and publications. You can spot her incredible work in the
upcoming issue of SUITCASE. When your subscription slips through your postbox, flip to our
article on the powerful young African women making it their
business to protect the planet. Laura’s beautiful illustrations
accompany the piece.

Follow her: @
_laurahope

Recognise Alexandra Karadzhova’s richly coloured photography and
striking landscape images? The Bulgarian photographer shot the cover for SUITCASE Vol. 35: Celebration, a rapturous portrait of Ruslan
the eagle hunter, and his treasured bird, Karabarchin, in Kyrgyzstan. A cinematographer and filmmaker, Alexandra
likes to seek out wild landscapes and unorthodox locations to
explore with her lens, from Cornwall to Kenya, often playing with
shadow to produce distinctive stills that capture the shapes and
spaces of landscapes, as well as the people who inhabit them. Next
up? Siberia, Greenland and Guatemala.

Follow her: @lostinayaland

London-based Layla Andrews is a rising star in the art world, with
Barack Obama numbering among her many fans. The artist is known for
her large-scale, figurative and abstract portraits, often splashed
with rich, earthy colours. Past subjects on canvas included the
aforementioned former US president and Nelson Mandela, her painting
of whom was auctioned to raise money for the freedom fighter’s
children’s charity. Currently artist in residence at Brixton
Village, Layla’s latest project is a curation of London’s leading
women artists. Head to the market to spot 20 original works from
seven of the city’s creatives, plus a series of large-scale
sea-life sculptures by Layla herself.

Follow her: @laylandrews

Ghanaian photographer Jessica Sarkodie first caught the eye of
the SUITCASE team with her saturated stills of Accra’s “motordames” burning up the city streets on two wheels
in Vol 31: The Freedom Issue. Since then, we’ve
been following her work in awe. Now based in Dakar, Jessica has
kept the unexpected and overlooked firmly in her sights, capturing
the narratives of both her home city and locations around West
Africa. Follow her for illuminating glimpses into Senegalese city
life.

Follow her: @jessicaarkodie

The trailblazing Jessica Nabongo made the history books in
October 2019, when she became the first Black woman to have visited
all 195 UN-recognised countries. Her two-and-a-half-year journey
took in Sudan’s pyramids, the sun-baked streets of Havana, the
world’s least visited country, Nauru, the Black cowboy communities
of Oklahoma and, finally, the white-sand shores of the Seychelles.
The adventure – played out across Jessica’s blog – had us
enraptured, so, when we heard the Detroit-born traveller was
releasing a book, The Catch Me If You Can, this year, recounting
her incredible odyssey, we pre-ordered it straight away. Want to
hear more about Jessica’s experiences? Catch her discussing her
globe-crossing trip on Episode 5 of The Upgrade podcast.

Follow her: @jessicanabongo

Following Amira Hashish – one half of SUITCASE’s The Upgrade
podcast, and a travel industry veteran – on Instagram is like
signing up to your own personal recommendations list. Catch her
criss-crossing the USA in search of edgy new stays, ducking into
west London’s dreamiest eateries and hitting the sleekest design
hotels across the world on her ‘gram – she’s got a keen eye for
interior trends, and the ear of the world’s hottest new designers.
Catch her on the upcoming episode of The Upgrade,
out at the end of March.

Follow her: @thedesigneditor

Hailing from the small city of Nanchong in China’s Sichuan
Basin, Yuxin
Mei, aka Temple Rat, weaves the sounds of the Chinese erhu – a
two-stringed folk instrument made from carved wood and snakeskin –
with minimalist techno beats, breaking down the distance between
traditional art forms and modern music. Her tracks are ephemeral
and esoteric, conjuring up mystical atmospheres within cavernous
nocturnal spaces such as
Berlin’s KitKat Club. Want to catch a set? The DJ regularly
hits the decks at iconic clubs in her home city of Shanghai. Try Bar Rouge or the
moody, red-lit club Celia, a mainstay of the city’s music
scene.

Follow her: @meiyuxinmay