A couple of years ago I went mining.
I was searching for design inspiration, so I started browsing CSS galleries to see if I could find something that would ignite some ideas for a redesign of my own.
Among the many sites I saw that night which I liked, this one stood out.
So I hopped on over to the site and loved what I saw. Then I noticed the designer did work with WordPress. And then I noticed that he lived in the Chicago area.
A Strategic Move
At the time, the competition in the premium WordPress theme market really started to soar, and I knew that I needed to start making some changes with how I was running the business.
So I sent him an email to see if there was a way we could meetup to talk about things. It took a little while to connect, but we finally did. (At Starbucks, of course.)
His name is Rafal Tomal, and contacting him was easily one of the best business decisions I have ever made in my life.
If you know anything about me, where I work or what I do, you know who Rafal is.
And if you don’t, he’s the design genius behind sites like Copyblogger, Chris Brogan and ProBlogger. For more proof, just check out his portfolio and you’ll get it real fast.
The Luck Factor
When you go mining for anything, sometimes you simply need a little luck to find it.
There are times in life when you come across the unexpected — the story about my encounter with Rafal was no different.
I didn’t set out to find a someone who can design, but here’s what I did find. A designer who’s work is off the charts. A loyal employee. And a really good friend.
Stepping Up
Two years ago Rafal was a relatively unknown freelance designer from Poland struggling to find his way. He made the leap of faith when he accepted a position from me at StudioPress, and ultimately from us at Copyblogger Media.
Since then, he’s made a commitment to learning as much as he can — from the latest design trends to conversion and optimization techniques.
He didn’t want to be good, he wanted to be great.
It’s been really fun to watch Rafal grow from a quiet guy to an ambitious and bold member of the Genesis and WordPress communities.
In the time I’ve known him, he’s gotten married, purchased his first home and has become an American citizen. I’m just so proud of all that he’s done.
What the Future Holds
If you like what you’ve seen from him so far, you’ll be blown away at what’s to come.
We’ve been brainstorming a lot these days about where we want to take our themes at StudioPress. We have some neat ideas, and I can’t wait to see them put into action.
I’m really excited for the path that lies ahead for us, and along that journey I’ll look back and never forget the day that changed my life.
When I found a diamond in the rough.
Really nice post Brian – and yes, you did find a gem! Congrats to Rafal as well
Great things to come I’m sure.
Thanks Shayne – and I agree, obviously.
A lot of people don’t know the story, so I thought I’d write it up for all to see.
Bromance! Great post.
When you got someone you love, love them hard.
Wow, it’s awesome to have found your perfect design match! I looked through his site, and he has some great resources for other designers, as well. Bookmarking that…and thanks for sharing his story.
Aside from his great designs, I’m thrilled that he decided to start blogging about design. It’s something that not a lot of designers do, and a lot of folks will reap the benefits.
Yes, I’ve become much more in love with larger padding because of some of Rafal’s design tips.
Thanks Brian! I’m really appreciate it.
I’m happy I found such good people on my way
I can’t wait to see what the future holds and how far the CBM team can go. It’s been over 2 years but I still have a feeling like we’ve just started 
The road ahead of us is a lot longer than the road behind us.
Great post Brian! Indeed you have found a real gem.
Congrats Rafal for being in a great company.
I have always loved the way everyone at Copyblogger Media is so generous and active in the community.
Wishing you good luck and loads of success
Rafal is so great to work with as well, I could hug him daily.
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Hey Brian, thanks for sharing this story on Rafal. I have gotten to know him online, but even better, had nice chats with him at WordCamp Chicago this year and last year. He is an amazing, yet humble young man.
I remember the first time I chatted with him. We must of talked for a good 20 minutes before I mentioned something about you or StudioPress, and he said “oh, I am a designer there”. That was so cool.
I know he has a great future ahead of him, and has already done so much in the last two years. The fact you gave him the chance, and he ran with it, that is awesome ( a word I rarely use).
Cheers to both of you!
Thanks for sharing this story, Brian. I’ve always admired, and been inspired by, Rafal’s work over the past few years. The success couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy too. Looking forward to what you guys cook up in the years to come.
Wow Brian, very nice post! I like the way you described it
Andrea, I could hug him daily too
I always admire what Rafal creates. The man has style.
Great story
“If you like what you’ve seen from him so far, you’ll be blown away at what’s to come.”
Yes I have liked what I’ve seen so far and I’m looking forward to Rafal’s future themes.
Make sure that you hang on to your diamond in the rough.
Great post, Brian. Rafal’s work is fantastic! (love his site!) Really glad he’s part of your team.
Fantastic story Brian. And yes Rafal is a great designer.
I don’t mean to sound like I’m preaching a sermon from a soapbox but being a spiritual person I firmly believe, notwithstanding free will, that many things in this life happen for a reason. I believe there are forces at work that try to guide (not force) us down certain paths. It seems to have worked wonderfully here.
Len, your post literally gave me chills down my spine. I’m in a major transition period in my life where I used to focus on affiliate marketing and now I am driving towards offering my own services within the community. I have felt this guiding for the past three weeks but couldn’t explain it. Now I can explain it perfectly. I was headed down the wrong path and I’m being guided towards the right way. Anyways, thanks!
Rafal’s designs are very nice, crisp, and trendsetting. Can’t wait to see what StudioPress does in the near future with their art. Great job!
Brian, besides getting mobile responsive flowing, what other major changes will take place in the design aspect of the themes?
I can personally attest, too! Rafal is amazing.
I don’t know Rafal in real person, but he designs can really speak for themselves.
Rafal is really good, his design always wows me at the first glance
We have all benefited from his theme design style and vision. It seems like the recent theme releases are wider than version released earlier this year. Yes? It is nice to use all that space available on most monitors.
I like to know where my theme is that I paid $80 for that was taken out of my PayPal, right away, but I haven’t received the theme. Someone else in the forum said they bought it yesterday and still don’t have theirs either. There is no way to contact anyone that’s alive at StudioPress via chat or phone number. This is shady and a horrible first impression.
Have you checked your spam folder? At times the welcome email with download links(s) often end up there. Otherwise, contact us via the StudioPress contact form and we’ll get things handled for you.
I’ll keep it short and simply say… that was a darn good blog post.
Thanks for sharing the story.
@RyanShell
I am a new one in wordpress design and Currently I am using themes and I know only a few codes but I want to learn more about wordpress like in scratch. Your post is very informative and thanks for sharing this post.
Rafal website is really good and he is a good website designer. I am a webmaster but I am not really a css expert and I used themes only and a few codes.
So, the guy behind all these designs is Rafal, hats off to you mate. You are a great Web Designer, you got awesome knowledge.
My comment must have vanished… I was going to say this reminds me basically of how I found you a few years before when we hired you for your first full time gig at SplashPress when you left the 9-5 days behind
Very informative read and quite inspiring too. Pushing to be better then the rest and take that extra leap isn’t easy (especially with online media) and hats off to anyone that puts the amount of time and skill into doing it.
Thanks for sharing Brian, have admired Rafal’s designs for a while now and am loving his work