Episode 71 Beneath the Western Skies with Gracey Larson

November 29, 2021 by Carina Gardner

Carina welcomes fellow Riley Blake designer Gracey Larson onto the show to talk about her new fabric line “Beneath the Western Skies.”

Carina and Gracey talk about the creation of the line and the patterns in it. To see actual fabric samples, please visit this episode on youtube at www.youtube.com/carinagardner.

You can find Gracey Larson on instagram at @burlapandblossompatterns and at her site https://www.burlapandblossompatterns.com.

__________
Download Carina’s free guide: The 7 Tips Nobody Will Tell You About Becoming a Surface Pattern Designer here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY
__________

**About Carina Gardner:**
Carina Gardner is a fabric designer, paper designer, and design educator who is passionate about helping other designers fulfill their creative dreams by teaching them her strategies for making money as a designer. She has a Ph.D. in Design and taught design at the University of Minnesota before starting Carina Gardner, Inc.

Carina Gardner, Inc design brand has been featured in dish ware, holiday decor, sewing patterns, and more. Her exclusive Design Suite Program helps creatives make money designing as they learn to design. Her programs include Illustrator and Photoshop training, surface pattern design, paper design, Silhouette & Cricut file design, and running a design business. She started the Make and Design Podcast so that she could share inspiration, stories, and experiences about design and life with crafters and designers.

Find out more at https://www.carinagardner.com
Check out her most popular program, Design Bootcamp, here: http://www.carinagardnercourses.com/designbootcamp

Episode 70 Attitude of Gratitude

November 26, 2021 by Carina Gardner

Carina talks about how gratitude changed her attitude about life. Filling your heart with an abundance mentality can do wonders for your design work and daily life.

Learn more about how gratitude can create unforeseen changes that will help you in your work and personal endeavors.

__________
Download Carina’s free guide: The 7 Tips Nobody Will Tell You About Becoming a Surface Pattern Designer here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY
__________

**About Carina Gardner:**
Carina Gardner is a fabric designer, paper designer, and design educator who is passionate about helping other designers fulfill their creative dreams by teaching them her strategies for making money as a designer. She has a Ph.D. in Design and taught design at the University of Minnesota before starting Carina Gardner, Inc.

Carina Gardner, Inc design brand has been featured in dish ware, holiday decor, sewing patterns, and more. Her exclusive Design Suite Program helps creatives make money designing as they learn to design. Her programs include Illustrator and Photoshop training, surface pattern design, paper design, Silhouette & Cricut file design, and running a design business. She started the Make and Design Podcast so that she could share inspiration, stories, and experiences about design and life with crafters and designers.

Find out more at https://www.carinagardner.com
Check out her most popular program, Design Bootcamp, here: http://www.carinagardnercourses.com/designbootcamp

Episode 69 Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Traditions

November 24, 2021 by Carina Gardner

It’s Thanksgiving and Carina takes a short break from talking about design in favor of Thanksgiving Tradition.

Join her for this lighthearted episode about gratitude and an American traditional holiday.

__________
Download Carina’s free guide: The 7 Tips Nobody Will Tell You About Becoming a Surface Pattern Designer here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY
__________

**About Carina Gardner:**
Carina Gardner is a fabric designer, paper designer, and design educator who is passionate about helping other designers fulfill their creative dreams by teaching them her strategies for making money as a designer. She has a Ph.D. in Design and taught design at the University of Minnesota before starting Carina Gardner, Inc.

Carina Gardner, Inc design brand has been featured in dish ware, holiday decor, sewing patterns, and more. Her exclusive Design Suite Program helps creatives make money designing as they learn to design. Her programs include Illustrator and Photoshop training, surface pattern design, paper design, Silhouette & Cricut file design, and running a design business. She started the Make and Design Podcast so that she could share inspiration, stories, and experiences about design and life with crafters and designers.

Find out more at https://www.carinagardner.com
Check out her most popular program, Design Bootcamp, here: http://www.carinagardnercourses.com/designbootcamp

Episode 68 Build a Better Workflow For Your Design Business

November 22, 2021 by Carina Gardner

Design isn’t just about knowing the software. So much of design is about how efficient you are as a designer.

In this episode, Carina helps you think about creating tactical ways to create a better workflow for your design business. A better workflow leads to more dollars in the bank so you will not want to miss these tips!

__________
Download Carina’s free guide: The 7 Tips Nobody Will Tell You About Becoming a Surface Pattern Designer here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY
__________

**About Carina Gardner:**
Carina Gardner is a fabric designer, paper designer, and design educator who is passionate about helping other designers fulfill their creative dreams by teaching them her strategies for making money as a designer. She has a Ph.D. in Design and taught design at the University of Minnesota before starting Carina Gardner, Inc.

Carina Gardner, Inc design brand has been featured in dish ware, holiday decor, sewing patterns, and more. Her exclusive Design Suite Program helps creatives make money designing as they learn to design. Her programs include Illustrator and Photoshop training, surface pattern design, paper design, Silhouette & Cricut file design, and running a design business. She started the Make and Design Podcast so that she could share inspiration, stories, and experiences about design and life with crafters and designers.

Find out more at https://www.carinagardner.com
Check out her most popular program, Design Bootcamp, here: http://www.carinagardnercourses.com/designbootcamp

Episode 67 5 ways to Deal with Burn Out

November 19, 2021 by Carina Gardner

Burnout is a real thing in today’s design world. Especially as markets FEEL more competitive, designers find it difficult to be creative under pressure.

If you have been feeling burned out, it can be due to a number of different factors. Identifying those factors and using Carina’s five tips will help you deal with burnout in this not-to-be-missed episode.

__________
Download Carina’s free guide: The 7 Tips Nobody Will Tell You About Becoming a Surface Pattern Designer here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY
__________

**About Carina Gardner:**
Carina Gardner is a fabric designer, paper designer, and design educator who is passionate about helping other designers fulfill their creative dreams by teaching them her strategies for making money as a designer. She has a Ph.D. in Design and taught design at the University of Minnesota before starting Carina Gardner, Inc.

Carina Gardner, Inc design brand has been featured in dish ware, holiday decor, sewing patterns, and more. Her exclusive Design Suite Program helps creatives make money designing as they learn to design. Her programs include Illustrator and Photoshop training, surface pattern design, paper design, Silhouette & Cricut file design, and running a design business. She started the Make and Design Podcast so that she could share inspiration, stories, and experiences about design and life with crafters and designers.

Find out more at https://www.carinagardner.com
Check out her most popular program, Design Bootcamp, here: http://www.carinagardnercourses.com/designbootcamp

Episode 66 Quilting Retreat Insider Scoop with Jill Finley

November 17, 2021 by Carina Gardner

Today Carina is talking with fellow Riley Blake designer Jill Finley! Jill hosts wonderful quilting retreats for women.

Jill talks about these events, sewing, and the details of her wonderful retreats.

You can find Jill at www.jillilystudio.com and on Instagram at @jillilystudio. Pre-order her book at https://www.rileyblakedesigns.com/Jillily-Studio-Quilted-Hugs-Book.

__________
Download Carina’s free guide: The 7 Tips Nobody Will Tell You About Becoming a Surface Pattern Designer here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY
__________

**About Carina Gardner:**
Carina Gardner is a fabric designer, paper designer, and design educator who is passionate about helping other designers fulfill their creative dreams by teaching them her strategies for making money as a designer. She has a Ph.D. in Design and taught design at the University of Minnesota before starting Carina Gardner, Inc.

Carina Gardner, Inc design brand has been featured in dish ware, holiday decor, sewing patterns, and more. Her exclusive Design Suite Program helps creatives make money designing as they learn to design. Her programs include Illustrator and Photoshop training, surface pattern design, paper design, Silhouette & Cricut file design, and running a design business. She started the Make and Design Podcast so that she could share inspiration, stories, and experiences about design and life with crafters and designers.

Find out more at https://www.carinagardner.com
Check out her most popular program, Design Bootcamp, here: http://www.carinagardnercourses.com/designbootcamp

Episode 65 Does The Design World Need Your Style?

November 15, 2021 by Carina Gardner

In a world where there are so many designers and everything seems so saturated, you may wonder if the world needs your designs or even your style.

Carina talks about how the niches and markets DO need what you have to offer.

Part of your power as a designer is continuing to niche down and find markets and styles that are undiscovered and unexploited. Learn more in today’s podcast.

__________
Download Carina’s free guide: The 7 Tips Nobody Will Tell You About Becoming a Surface Pattern Designer here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY
__________

**About Carina Gardner:**
Carina Gardner is a fabric designer, paper designer, and design educator who is passionate about helping other designers fulfill their creative dreams by teaching them her strategies for making money as a designer. She has a Ph.D. in Design and taught design at the University of Minnesota before starting Carina Gardner, Inc.

Carina Gardner, Inc design brand has been featured in dish ware, holiday decor, sewing patterns, and more. Her exclusive Design Suite Program helps creatives make money designing as they learn to design. Her programs include Illustrator and Photoshop training, surface pattern design, paper design, Silhouette & Cricut file design, and running a design business. She started the Make and Design Podcast so that she could share inspiration, stories, and experiences about design and life with crafters and designers.

Find out more at https://www.carinagardner.com
Check out her most popular program, Design Bootcamp, here: http://www.carinagardnercourses.com/designbootcamp

Episode 64 How Will You Show Up for The Holidays?

November 12, 2021 by Carina Gardner

The Holidays can be a busy time and sometimes it helps to put some thought into how we’ll show up for them to make sure that we’re there for the important things.

In today’s episode, Carina shares her thoughts on “showing up” for the Holidays.

__________
Download Carina’s free guide: The 7 Tips Nobody Will Tell You About Becoming a Surface Pattern Designer here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY
__________

**About Carina Gardner:**
Carina Gardner is a fabric designer, paper designer, and design educator who is passionate about helping other designers fulfill their creative dreams by teaching them her strategies for making money as a designer. She has a Ph.D. in Design and taught design at the University of Minnesota before starting Carina Gardner, Inc.

Carina Gardner, Inc design brand has been featured in dish ware, holiday decor, sewing patterns, and more. Her exclusive Design Suite Program helps creatives make money designing as they learn to design. Her programs include Illustrator and Photoshop training, surface pattern design, paper design, Silhouette & Cricut file design, and running a design business. She started the Make and Design Podcast so that she could share inspiration, stories, and experiences about design and life with crafters and designers.

Find out more at https://www.carinagardner.com
Check out her most popular program, Design Bootcamp, here: http://www.carinagardnercourses.com/designbootcamp

Episode 63 Saturday in Paris with The Tattoo Quilter Christopher Thompson

November 10, 2021 by Carina Gardner

Today’s episode of Make + Design features guest star Christopher Thompson, an amazing fabric designer who works as the Director of Product Marketing at Riley Blake Designs.

Christopher and Carina share stories about growing up working on tie quilts with their families. Join us for Christopher’s wonderful stories and insights into his new fabric line at Riley Blake, Saturday in Paris.

__________
Download Carina’s free guide: The 7 Tips Nobody Will Tell You About Becoming a Surface Pattern Designer here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY
__________

**About Carina Gardner:**
Carina Gardner is a fabric designer, paper designer, and design educator who is passionate about helping other designers fulfill their creative dreams by teaching them her strategies for making money as a designer. She has a Ph.D. in Design and taught design at the University of Minnesota before starting Carina Gardner, Inc.

Carina Gardner, Inc design brand has been featured in dish ware, holiday decor, sewing patterns, and more. Her exclusive Design Suite Program helps creatives make money designing as they learn to design. Her programs include Illustrator and Photoshop training, surface pattern design, paper design, Silhouette & Cricut file design, and running a design business. She started the Make and Design Podcast so that she could share inspiration, stories, and experiences about design and life with crafters and designers.

Find out more at https://www.carinagardner.com
Check out her most popular program, Design Bootcamp, here: http://www.carinagardnercourses.com/designbootcamp

About Today’s Guest

Christopher Thompson was a fashion designer in New York City when he discovered the modern quitting movement. His decision to lean in to the movement has led to publications in QuiltCon, Modern Patchwork, among others. He is currently the Director of Product Marketing for Riley Blake Designs, for whom he designs wonderful, bold fabrics. You can find his work at www.thetattooedquilter.com.

Episode 61 Do What You Like in Your Niche with April Cobb

November 5, 2021 by Carina Gardner

Do you ever wonder if your niche–the stuff that you like–is too narrow to be commercially viable for design? Carina is joined by seamstress and expert designer April Cobb on today’s episode of Make + Design.

April and Carina answer the question of whether a niche is too “nichey” as they discuss their love of the TV show Gilmore Girls and April’s amazing Gilmore-Girls-inspired fabric line. Find out how their insights about niches can help you evaluate yours!

__________
Download Carina’s free guide: The 7 Tips Nobody Will Tell You About Becoming a Surface Pattern Designer here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY
__________

**About Carina Gardner:**
Carina Gardner is a fabric designer, paper designer, and design educator who is passionate about helping other designers fulfill their creative dreams by teaching them her strategies for making money as a designer. She has a Ph.D. in Design and taught design at the University of Minnesota before starting Carina Gardner, Inc.

Carina Gardner, Inc design brand has been featured in dish ware, holiday decor, sewing patterns, and more. Her exclusive Design Suite Program helps creatives make money designing as they learn to design. Her programs include Illustrator and Photoshop training, surface pattern design, paper design, Silhouette & Cricut file design, and running a design business. She started the Make and Design Podcast so that she could share inspiration, stories, and experiences about design and life with crafters and designers.

Find out more at https://www.carinagardner.com
Check out her most popular program, Design Bootcamp, here: http://www.carinagardnercourses.com/designbootcamp

About Today’s Guest

April Cobb is an expert seamstress, fabric designer, and crafter. You can find April’s colorful and gorgeous creations at her Etsy Shop, aprilcobbdesigns.