For the next seven weeks the eyes of Calgary will be glued to HGTV on Monday nights for Designer Superstar Challenge. The show is an action packed reality series about the search for and selection of Canada’s next potential design show superstar. The episodes are based on surprise weekly challenges, nerve wracking tension and ultimate joy as a three member judging panel (Anna Simone, Jeff Andrews and Suzanne Dimma) endeavor to reduce ten finalists to just one superstar.
“Being on a reality TV show was really surreal. There were so many times where I was asking ‘am I really here?’ I couldn’t believe this was happening to me!” Alykhan Velji, who along with Aveline Crews represent Calgary on the show. “I was under a lot of stress though when it came down to the judges making their decisions, that was the toughest part. I hope the show makes people realize that I have my head on straight, I know what I am doing, and that I truly have a passion for design.”
It was a crazy road just to get to the show itself. The producers received hundreds of entry tapes and spent days watching and weeding the finalists down to 30. It was then up to the judges to decide which ten should go to Toronto to take part with the show. Velji described his own route to the show.
”A friend of mine at the Calgary Sun actually got the press release and emailed me about it, and a client of mine also mentioned it to me and was really pushing me to apply. So I did. We had to create a 5 minute video in a space that we had decorated or designed. I chose to do it in the home of the client who was motivating me to apply for the challenge. It was really a team effort. I got back from Africa and I had a week to get organized. I shot the video after work one day. Everything was painted and ready to get furnished. I rented some movers, brought some furniture in from Ellipses Design to mix in with some of the client’s, brought some items from home, borrowed some artwork and set up the space in about three hours. We shot the video in about one hour and then were out of there. I did have some help though, thank God - I couldn’t have done it on my own!”
”The show is a reality show that is focused on the design challenges with the judges looking to see skill, ability and ease on camera. The series was shot over a span of seven days with one challenge per day,” Rosemary Petrossi, publicist for HGTV told us. “The filming was fun and exhausting, and HGTV shot a ton of footage and each day was action-packed, but considering that most design shows are shot over the span of a few weeks, a day doesn’t seem like a lot. “
”The experience was fabulous! I never realized how much work went into making a TV show. I loved every minute of it though, as tiring as it was!” added Velji. “I have definitely grown as a designer. I believe the whole experience really made me confident in my design ability. I learned a lot of from the experience especially to trust my instincts and to go with my gut because during the show I didn’t have much of a chance to second guess myself.”
Regardless of the outcome, being part of Design Superstar Challenge opens a lot of doors.
”Many of our winners have either appeared as guests on HGTV programs or have gone on to work on HGTV shows. Designer Superstar Challenge is a great way for the average design enthusiast to get in front of the programming team at HGTV,” said Petrossi, adding that the brand, now in its third season is alive and thriving. “We now have Designer Superstar Challenge, Handyman Superstar Challenge and Superstar Chef Challenge. Anyone interested in applying should watch HGTV for a Designer Superstar promo requesting audition tapes.”
For Velji, it was the experience of a lifetime.
”What an unbelievable experience this was for me. This was the third Designer Superstar Challenge. I remember hearing about the first and second one and thinking what an amazing opportunity it would be, and that I should really try out. To have actually made it to the top 10 out of thousands that applied was so thrilling!”
So what happens on the show? Velji is tight-lipped on the subject, but invites you down to The Twisted Element Monday Nights to watch the show at 7:00pm with him to enjoy the journey.
”How far do I go in the competition? You are just going to have to watch to see what happens.”
HGTV Designer Superstar Challenge III
Monday Nights 7:00pm and 10:00pm
Home and Garden Network (HGTV)
Channel 600 on Bell ExpressVu
Channel 51 on Shaw Cable
Channel 564 on StarChoice
