Getting the backdrop to the forefront

Dias Decorators is a well known name in the entertainment industry but very few people know about the family behind the brand. Headed by Merces-based Simon Dias, Dias Decorators has completed 27 years and is growing stronger with the help of Simon’s daughter, Zina, the Director of the company.

Recalling his childhood, Simon is thankful for two talents, sports and arts. “I used to love sketching when I was a student and though I was weak in studies, my love for sketching has helped me grow in this line, while the sports has kept me healthy,” says Simon, as he settles down in his office at Patto, Panjim.

Simon joined the police service as a driver and after serving for many years, he opted for VRS to focus on designing his stage set ups and backdrops. “This was a part time hobby. I used to work throughout the day. Whatever free time I got would go into doing decorations. I had boys working with me then as well. Today, I have 75 employees during season time. They get trained on the job and many move on to other companies quickly. I still have 2-3 employees who have been working with me for over 15 years,” he says.

With his main office in Patto, Panjim, Dias Deocrators has fully functioning workshops in Merces, Chinchinim and Canacona. In the beginning, he started out with décor for Goan weddings. “I used to do a lot of Goan weddings at Kesarval hall and Blueberry hall in the south, Missel Hotel at Ribandar and Gaspar Dias, Miramar, mostly with thermocol decorations. Now since we have grown, I do NRI weddings as Goa is a wedding destination.

“For North Goan weddings, we supply from the Merces workshop. For South Goa weddings, the decorations are ready at the Chinchinim workshop and for the southernmost part of Goa, décor is moved in advance and kept at the Canacona workshop,” he explains.

Right from ideation to the actual set up of the décor, everything is carried out systematically in stages. “I still have my old diary on which I still do drawings. But for work purpose, I maintain a file with every event. Zina conducts the meetings with the client and the rest is finalised after our discussion. The final procedure list is distributed to the employees in charge, right from loading the required material and setting it up perfectly,” he adds.

Simon is also the man behind the beautiful backdrops for Konkani singing competitioin‘Goencho Avaz’ and has been a part of the event for the last four years. “People notice the stages that have been set up at ‘Goencho Avaz’ and I receive a lot of positive feedback for the same. These four years with ‘Goencho Avaz’ have been great. New and different designs are very important otherwise there is no growth. I might not be able to read and write well but I know how to sketch and design new stages and to execute them in that same manner,” concludes Simon, proving that talent and hard-work for the key to success.