

Make and Design with Carina Gardner
Carina Gardner
Carina Gardner, Ph.D. unravels the everyday joys and dilemmas of design, making, and business. This inside scoop into fabric design, paper design, die cut design, and crafting will help bring more creativity and joy in your life. Carina Gardner is the founder and CEO of the University of Arts & Design. She was the Creative Director of Cartabella Paper Co. and MiniLou. She has designed everything from dishware, sewing patterns to bracelets under her brand. She currently designs fabric for Riley Blake Designs and die cutting files for Silhouette while teaching other designers how to create meaningful businesses with their design work.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 29, 2022 • 13min
Episode 175 A New Approach to Design Education
As a former college professor, Carina understands how the college system works. She recently got to attend a college orientation, which gave her a glimpse of what is going on in the college system at this time. Since she started her Design Suite program a little over a year ago, she’s really been thinking about new approaches to education and how she likes to be educated. This episode outlines these new approaches and how these approaches are used in her Design Suite program. __________ 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 Watch this episode as a video at https://www.makeanddesign.com/Get my free gift to you here: https://www.designsuitecourses.com/intentional

Jul 27, 2022 • 8min
Episode 174 Things I Wish I Had Known Starting Out
In this episode, Carina talks about the things she wishes she had known when she started designing full time 14 years ago. These items that are discussed are those that involve really starting and running a design business. __________ 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 Watch this episode as a video at https://www.makeanddesign.com/Get my free gift to you here: https://www.designsuitecourses.com/intentional

Jul 25, 2022 • 11min
Episode 173 How to Start Your Design Business Right
Starting a design business is a very fun place to be! Being a designer is a wonderful career choice. Carina often sees designers that are just getting started that just can’t figure out what they’re doing and how to get going. She is hopeful that the strategic advice that she provides in this episode will help you as you’re getting started. __________ 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 Watch this episode as a video at https://www.makeanddesign.com/Get my free gift to you here: https://www.designsuitecourses.com/intentional

Jul 22, 2022 • 7min
Episode 172 Getting Ready for the Best Season Ever
It’s almost that time of year again! Carina mentions that August has always marked the beginning of her fall season. August is a great time to start thinking about how we can have our best season ever. Carina emphasizes that it is helpful to sit down and create a game plan for how you can make this your best design season ever. You can evaluate the things you can do to control things like how much money you make, how much you design, and how much you produce. __________ 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 Watch this episode as a video at https://www.makeanddesign.com/Get my free gift to you here: https://www.designsuitecourses.com/intentional

Jul 20, 2022 • 8min
Episode 171 Building Resilience As A Designer
This episode discusses building resilience as a designer. Carina discusses that when she was teaching at the university, the main emphasis was on having a thick skin. Especially when we’re starting something new later in life, it’s hard to hear criticism because many feel like they should have everything down. While this can be a difficult thing to teach, and for some to accept, this is an important lesson to learn. __________ 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 Watch this episode as a video at https://www.makeanddesign.com/Get my free gift to you here: https://www.designsuitecourses.com/intentional

Jul 18, 2022 • 12min
Episode 170 8 Things You Must Have to Be A Designer
In this episode, Carina gives practical advice and discusses the eight things you have to have in order to be a designer. Some of these items are physical things, while others are mindset things. However, they’re all extremely important. __________ 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 Watch this episode as a video at https://www.makeanddesign.com/Get my free gift to you here: https://www.designsuitecourses.com/intentional

Jul 15, 2022 • 7min
Episode 169 3 Tacky Mistakes Surface Pattern and Craft Designers Make
We all want to avoid being that person with the tacky design. In this episode, Carina discusses the 3 tacky mistakes that she often sees in design, so you can make sure that you are avoiding these mistakes. By doing so, you can make sure that your design work is clean, professional, and beautiful! __________ 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 Watch this episode as a video at https://www.makeanddesign.com/Get my free gift to you here: https://www.designsuitecourses.com/intentional

Jul 13, 2022 • 5min
Episode 168 Is Surface Pattern Design Recession Proof?
Concerns over a possible upcoming recession are often brought up by designers and business owners. However, Carina believes that being a designer is recession proof because designers often possess a number of different skills. This episode breaks down how you can diversify your offerings and ways to make money so you can easily pivot and win. __________ 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 Watch this episode as a video at https://www.makeanddesign.com/Get my free gift to you here: https://www.designsuitecourses.com/intentional

Jul 11, 2022 • 8min
Episode 167 How to Be A Surface Pattern Designer Without Going Back To College
While Carina may encourage younger people to go back to college to get their design degree, going back to college may not make sense for those that are in other stages of life. In this episode, Carina explains why a focused concentration in the areas of knowledge you need to actually become a designer is key. __________ 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 Watch this episode as a video at https://www.makeanddesign.com/Get my free gift to you here: https://www.designsuitecourses.com/intentional

Jul 8, 2022 • 19min
Episode 166 What is Coming To Design Suite in August 2022
Carina has been dedicated to creating the most fluid and comprehensive surface pattern and crafting design program out there. Learn about what is new in her Design Suite program because the August release is going to be a big one! Along with a handbook and all 17 courses, there is a brand new awards system! Learn more in this episode for designers who know they have something missing and are struggling to make money. __________ 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 Watch this episode as a video at https://www.makeanddesign.com/Get my free gift to you here: https://www.designsuitecourses.com/intentional


