Caulking isn’t what led Camila Bernal to Australia, but it’s definitely what’s kept her here. The Insta sensation talks relocating, The Block and why she loves being tradie…
Camila originally moved to Australia nearly nine years ago for her studies. Like many of us, the 31-year-old needed to work while studying.
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But a job in hospitality wasn’t for Camila, and a tradie friend suggested she enter the awesome world of caulking.
“It’s Monday-Friday, 7am-3pm, it’s better money – and I thought actually, that all sounded pretty good,” she said.
Caulk it up
Of course, the shift from student to tradie is never easy, but Camila had a tonne of things working against her.
“The first one being English was my second language,” she said.
“I was not in Colombia, I was an international student. For me, the language was a big barrier.
“I’d show up to a jobsite, people would give me instructions and I wouldn’t understand half of what they said to me.”
Camila also knew coming from Colombia had certain stigmas about it, something she was quick to disprove.
“Being from Colombia, all the conversations in the jobsite would start with ‘oh, you’re from Colombia! … the drugs … the cocaine … Pablo Escobar!’,” she said.
“It was very challenging at the beginning, I thought it was really annoying. Now, I’ve learnt not to take it personally.
“I tell people there’s more the Colombia than that, and if someone is really disrespectful, I make sure they know they shouldn’t talk like that.”
An lastly, Camila was entering an industry that’s still very much a male tradie’s world. Despite all this, Camila took the bull by the horns and tackled all the challenges that came her way.
“It was an amazing experience,” she said.
“I’ve learned how to handle these things and try not to take things personally.
“I started learning the trade, I started being more comfortable being in a male-dominated environment – the way I started feeling about myself made them respect me more.”
Sealed, signed and delivered
More than seven years later, and Camila has fully cemented herself into the caulking community. After working for various people across her early days, Camila started an Instagram to catalogue all her jobs in a portfolio. However, she noticed followers were coming in droves to see her collection of caulking content.
“I started with nothing, then I kept getting followers,” Camila said.
“People started coming to me there for work, but I could only do weekends because I was working full-time for another company as well.
“I got to the point where I said hang on – I’ve got so much work coming in that I can probably just do my own thing.”
And so Camila the Caulker was born.
With a catchy business name like that, there was no stopping her. Her business mainly comes in the form of high-end domestic caulking, with jobs coming from all directions seeking Camila’s caulking capabilities.
Camila is one of a growing number of tradies using social media – particularly Instagram – as a way to promote their awesome work.
“I don’t have a website, I don’t pay for advertising, I don’t have anything,” she said.
“I get 85 per cent of my jobs through Instagram, from builders, tradies, or just even everyday people – they all message me through Instagram asking about jobs.
“My Instagram works well by itself, it’s a really important tool for me. I put a lot of time and love into it.”
Not only has Camila found Insta to be an awesome tool for getting work, but also a way to connect with other tradies and help promote other sides of the industry as well.
“It’s been an amazing networking platform too … it’s how we can support each other,” she said.
“If I’m on a job, I like to promote the painter, the tiler, the electrician etc.
“It’s really nice because it makes everyone feel supported in the industry.”
Celebrity caulking
It wasn’t long before Camila’s social media prowess got the attention of hit homebuilding TV sensation The Block on Channel NINE.
Camila threw a shot in the dark by dm’ing The Block on Instagram, thinking her message would get lost with thousands like it.
But not long after hitting send, Camila was called by the producers who needed a talented caulker for the show.
“I was driving in the morning – just another day – and I got this phone call from the people from The Block. They’d seen what I had done on Instagram, and they wanted me to do work on the show,” she said.
Camila helped out on sites for the 2022 season, and helped put the finishing touches on homes this year to help prep them for selling.
“This season, I was contacted by contestants and builders on the show,” she said.
“Three of them I had to say no to because of how much work I have – I only have two hands!
“I ended up doing all five houses after the show had finished.
“They wanted me to help finish up on the beautiful houses to have them ready to sell.”
Standing strong
As well as being a kick-ass caulker from Colombia, Camila is an ambassador for Empowered Women in Trades (EWIT) – a women tradies advocacy group.
From her own experiences acclimatising to the tradie life, Camila said she’s often asked to speak to fellow women in trades to help encourage them to stick with it.
“I was talking to one of my clients the other day, and they said if they had employees, they’d love to have a female team,” Camila said.
“It’s really nice to hear people say ‘I need a female painter’ – they want to see more girls on tools.
“I’m not someone who says women are better, because there’s amazing men doing amazing things.
“But I think the industry is changing a lot and I fully support more women in trades, 100 per cent.”
Camila was nominated for three awards at the EWIT Gala Night Awards on February 24. She said while she loves getting props for her caulking regularly, being nominated for these awards meant something more.
“A very important thing for me is that I’m not just seen as a company – Camilla the Caulker,” she said.
“I feel like I’m doing something meaningful with the industry, I’m getting contacted by a lot of people who want to share my story and help inspire others not only from Australia but also from all around the world and show them that with hard work and dedication, anyone can make their dreams come true.
“I feel like it’s more than just offering caulking, it’s talking to other women in trades to help inspire more to take up the tools.”
You can find more about Camila and her work @camilathecaulker on Instagram.