Dario
DiMare, the founder of Dario Designs Inc., was raised in Ashtabula, Ohio, where
he entered Kent State University and graduated with honors. He worked during
college as a mucker tunneling under Lake Erie, and held two other jobs to pay
for a semester of study in Florence, Italy. After his studies, DiMare headed
east around the world with a backpack , tent, and eight dollars a day, gathering
information pertinent to the evolution of architecture.
DiMare was recruited right out of Kent State by The Austin Company, based in
Cleveland. He spent 11 years with Austin where his first two jobs were for The
Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ) and Newsday (Melville, NY). He also designed Austin's
Eastern District Headquarters. Although he worked with clients in other
industries, by the end of his tenure with Austin he was specializing in
newspapers
DiMare had two things going for him when he set out solo; specifically, Dow
Jones & Company awarded him a multi-year contract to modify all of its print
sites nationwide to accommodate the additional press capacity for both more
pages and process color, and, more generally, newspapers of all sizes started to
build again after a gradual recovery from their worst recession in 50 years.
In
less than two years, DiMare had enough work to take on David Hogan as a partner.
DiMare had worked with Hogan at Carlson Associates and recognized him as a
honest, hard working, intelligent architect. "These are the three most important
qualities a person can have; integrity, a positive attitude and intelligence,
and Hogan had them in spades," said DiMare.
A
year later they added two people. The next year included four more. The company
doubled in people and revenues once again. "We also have a couple of other firms
that work for us to help carry us through the peaks. If one includes the
consultants and engineers working for Dario Designs, it is fair to say that
there are about 50 people under the direction of the company at any given point
in time.
DiMare attributes the company's success to providing the best service in the
industry. This service is based upon a core principle that DiMare has practiced
and believed in all along: "If we do what is in the best interest of our
clients, it will prove to be in our own best interest in the long run."
