“No space for self-doubt”: Rehana reflects on Making It to the final five
This week’s episode of Making It Australia saw our remaining five crafters continue to make things on a huge scale.
But only four would make it through to the next series of challenges, and Rehana was the next Maker to exit the show.
She sat down with OverSixty to answer our crafty questions and tell us about her transition into starting her own creative business.
O60: What was the highlight of being a Maker?
Honestly, the highlight was everybody on set, from the makers to the cameraman to the producers to the wardrobe ladies. I think the highlight of the show was just stepping on set and feeling like I've met my people. We just connected so instantly that it sort of baffled me a little bit. I'm like, “Oh my gosh, how do I love every single one of you within five minutes of meeting you?”
I guess when you’re on a set for two months, you’re away from your family and everything, but you know, they become your family. You just get through so much. And you experience so many things together you can't help but love one another.
O60: What surprised you most about your Making It experience?
The fact that I could get things done in eight hours. Eight hours is not a lot of time for crafting!
O60: The last few episodes of Making It have involved crafting on a HUGE scale in a limited amount of time. Could you tell us a bit more about what that experience was like?
I'm a graphic designer, so I'm used to doing most of my work on a computer. All my crafting experience comes from like a lot of Pinterest tutorials and watching YouTube and Tik Tok and that sort of thing. And, you know, I had to force myself to start just making decisions.
I tend to think that maybe something's not good enough or I don't really know what I'm doing. But when you're under that eight-hour pressure, you have no choice but to commit and just believe in yourself. There's no space for self doubt. There's no space for thinking you're not going to be able to do it. You’ve just got to get it done.
Image: Supplied
O60: What’s next for you after Making It?
So since leaving the show, I quit my job [and went] into my own business!
I come from a really traditional background where you either become a doctor, an engineer, an accountant or a housewife. And so when I told my parents I wanted to be an artist or a creative, they were like, “Oh, are you sure you'd be able to make a living out of that?” then I'm like, “I'm not entirely sure I can!”
So graphic design to me was a nice medium where I could be creative in my work but also it paid the bills.
[And] when I went on the show, I didn't think I'd go past the first week. I'm like, “I'm surrounded by people who do this for a living, I'm just a hobby crafter.” Sure, I do graphic design, but even then I don't really consider myself a great graphic designer. And you know, I learned that was wrong.
So getting to be in the top four was honestly a surprise [so] if I look really shocked throughout the series it’s because I'm genuinely shocked that I'm still there.
[And] even once they told me I was going home, I remember telling one of the judges that I felt like I'd already won, like I'd already proven to myself that I could do this and that I could impress people and I had people who thought the things that I was producing were worthy and of value. And that gave me the push that I needed to go full time into my Day Night Dusk business and into my little design business. I ended up buying a laser cutter, I've ended up releasing two collections since we wrapped up filming on the show and in fact Christmas is coming up and I'm about to release a lovely little earring stand to commemorate coming off the show.
At the end of the day I've been so fortunate to have the opportunity to realise that I am who I am and that's good enough. And that's valuable enough to launch myself into a career where I can support myself, being creative and enjoying the work that I do.
O60: Making It posed challenges that saw you use a whole range of different skills and techniques. Has it changed how you have gone about your creative practice since leaving the show?
Totally. I've been given a whole new I guess confidence in trying a lot of new things, and a lot of support as well. I mean, George's workshop is in Sydney, and she's been telling me she'll teach me how to weld for a while… I can’t wait to go to her workshop, she's got all these wacky machines that I can play with!
O60: Last but not least, if you had the chance, would you do it again?
Oh absolutely, a thousand times yes!
It was such a great experience. And I remember when I first applied I'm like, “Oh, I don't think this is going to go anywhere.” And then when they did call me back to come for a moment, I was tempted to say no, because my son was 14 months, so he was still quite young. And my husband sat with me on the steps and I was like, “I don't think I'm gonna do it.”
And he said to me, “If you don't do it, do you think you’d regret it?”
And I said, “Yes. I think I’ll regret it if I don't do this.”
And I'm so glad that I went ahead and did it and I would encourage anyone else who’s interested to just give it a crack and see where it takes them.
As the finale draws ever closer, the remaining contestants will return to craft their hearts out on Saturday from 7pm.
Image: Supplied