Dario, pictured above on-site at one of our clients, joined History Factory in 2015 as a creative lead. He’s a storyteller, digging in deep with clients to help surface their most compelling stories and to make sure that everything we produce for them fits just right.
Born in the United Kingdom to a British mother and Italian father, Dario moved to the United States in 2011. His diverse background (he started his career in an entirely different field in another part of the world) nurtured his creative spirit and uncommon ability to connect, which serves him well in his role. Read on to learn what makes him tick, or connect with him — especially on Lego-related topics — at [email protected].
What is your favorite part about working with History Factory?
Adventures into a client’s world.
There have been some weird and wonderful trips. Working with clients from so many industries means an endless flow of experiences: the 20th Century Fox film lot in L.A., a chicken processing plant in Maryland, “Deloitte Disneyland” in Texas (the Deloitte University campus), and trips to places such as Mexico, the U.K., Singapore, and India.
The most thrilling visit? A client once rented out all of Universal Studios Florida for 20,000 employees — and brought a few of us along for the (literal) ride.
Who is your all-time favorite musical artist?
Hands down, the violinist Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987).
Why? He’s considered the most influential violinist in history. As a performing violinist until my graduate years, I counted Heifetz as my idol. You could say Heifetz became an obsession. That led me to complete a Ph.D., publish a few books, work on a documentary and give lectures about him.
True story: When George Bernard Shaw heard the teenage Heifetz perform, he wrote the boy a letter: “If you provoke a jealous God by playing with such superhuman perfection, you will die young.” Shaw’s advice? Play a few bad notes every night before bed.
I haven’t heard any bad notes, and Heifetz lived into his 80s, but don’t take my word for it. Watch the majestic Tchaikovsky Concerto, or listen to the spine-tingling Vitali Chaconne.
- At a roundtable discussion following the premiere of the PBS American Masters documentary, “God’s Fiddler,” Los Angeles, 2011 (there’s Dario, second from the right again)
Tell us about a hobby and how you got into it.
Lego (or “legos,” for the Americans).
I started young and still have a certificate from winning a children’s Lego building competition. Being surrounded by countless bricks with their colorful promise of unlimited creativity — bliss!
Proudest moment was probably designing a full-size violin with Lego CAD software, then ordering the bricks and building it in real life. Not quite a Stradivarius, but you can play it in the bath.
My two young sons are now old enough to join in the fun, so I have the ultimate excuse to scour eBay and lego.com.
- The one-of-a-kind Lego violin
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A virtuoso violinist touring the world or a Lego Master Builder living in Denmark.
If you could eat one cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Anything prepared by my Italian grandmother. She’s sadly no longer with us, but Nonna Francesca’s cooking was in a class of its own — pasta, pizza, everything. Memories of those incredible dishes and her beautiful smile never fade. Buon appetito!
- With Nonna Francesca
