Award Winning?

For the last four years I have attended the Dulux Select Gala Dinner where fellow members come together to celebrate the previous year of working hard and to acknowledge those who have put forward their workmanship  on jobs  for several awards. Each year the level of workmanship shown on these jobs is nothing short of amazing and, to me anyway, the bar gets higher. I have often sat applauding thinking wow, that is incredible. Upon leaving the awards I think I wish I was good enough to enter(the good old work anxiety gnawing away again) or I wish I was confident enough to enter or I'm doing it next year, I'm entering. Normally the first two thoughts take precedence and I don't enter but this year I went if the right job comes up it's going in. In January the right job did come along and I set upon entering it.

A little bit about the process first. You have to get the homeowners permission to enter first and foremost, after all it their house that is been shown. Commercial work is not allowed. There are several categories covering basically all aspects of domestic decorating and you enter the job in what category it falls under. The homeowner fills a form in to support your entry and you attach eight pictures, once that goes in the judging panel looks at the entries and decides who to shortlist.

So the job I entered was a living room that was mainly wood panelled walls and one large flat ceiling. The prep work on the walls alone took several days before any paint was applied, ceiling and coving was sprayed and walls finished in eggshell. I have posted pictures on my instagram page showing this and I'll also update upon posting this. As I have said the work anxiety was ever present and I didn't expect to hear anything but to my pure astonishment I was shortlisted!

The next few weeks after I was floating with pride and was also very nervous, allowing myself to daydream that could I win it really? We came to the Gala Dinner night, all suited and booted with my partner looking lovely as usual, with some expectation but also none at all. Ok that doesn't make much sense I know, it was more I thought I can win it as I'm shortlisted but also knowing the levels shown on previous years I didn't expect to. We mingled about for a while, speaking to various members and their partners, friends and colleagues then sat down for some food and drink, a charity raffle and also good entertainment (magician who was brilliant and a piano player who seemed to know every song written) before the awards itself. I could feel my heart rate increasing with each passing category, sweat beads forming on my forehead, building to the one I was entered in. Applauding the other winners and commended entrants while shaking ever so slightly. The judge stood on the stage, giving a description of the job, was this my job? Have I done it? Sounds like it's mine? And the winner is....... not me. 

Honestly I was so deflated right then, turns out that despite my anxiety I had really thought I could win and when I hadn't it knocked me for six. Thought this is how those actors feel when they lose out on the Oscar or losing sportspeople in the final. It wasn't until I was nursing a drink 20 minutes later when my partner said just being shortlisted is a win itself, twelve months ago you didn't feel confident enough to enter and here you are feeling gutted you lost. If you have managed to do that this year (along with getting on to pop master and losing on 30 points, yes it still rankles with me!!) then imagine what you can achieve in the next twelve months. And she's right, being shortlisted is something I am really proud of and as I type this I'm really pleased I entered and put myself and my work out there. It has proved to me that I am good enough to be considered equal to other Dulux Select members and that moving forward I can push myself to bigger and better things, knowing I have the support of others behind me. 

A big congratulations are in order for all those who won awards this year and to those other members who like me entered and just fell short, along with the staff behind the scheme whose support have grown yearly, we are all winners in our own right. Hopefully next year I can go that step further