On today’s episode of Make + Design, Carina talks about what makes a good Community. The more that Carina has thought about her community, the more she’s thought about what it takes to lead a community. Community makes us stronger, more creative, and more likely to reach our goals.   First, Carina shares her thoughts on finding a community that creates an atmosphere where members are comfortable giving and taking. Not only should the leader of the community participate and give; you should look for a community where members are willing to reach out and help members who have questions. A great community is a fifty-fifty mix of giving and taking. After six months of learning, the hope is that those who “take” at first will have a chance to “give” down the road.    Second, in Carina’s opinion, you should find a community where members feel safe. The internet is full of spaces where people can comment in snarky ways or act in ways that are toxic and those spaces feel unsafe. Carina finds that if members pay into a community then the amount of negativity goes down to almost zero. A safe community helps us to be better because committed people lift us up and make us better.   Third, find a community where the leader sets the tone. If you want a community that is excited and fun then find a leader who rises to the occasion and brings a level of energy and positivity to the group. Carina shares some thoughts on what to do if your current community isn’t feeding you with positivity as well.    Finally, Community is really just a way of creating relationships with people you can do amazing things with and that you can fall back on when things are hard. Great communities foster great relationships that grow beyond the community itself.   __________ 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/