Today we’d like to introduce you to Manya Siva.
Hi Manya, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Born out of a simple desire to “do something creative in my free time”, Dazzling Streaks Events in 10 years has grown from being a Party Entertainment company to a “Wedding and Special Event Decoration and Production” company.
I started as a Facepainter back in 2013 to get a creative break from my 9-5 Tech job. Then at one of the events, my client asked me if I could do some simple balloon decoration for the backdrop and I said why not? Youtube was my bible and I self-taught every nuance of decoration. Slowly, one event became 2 and then 5 and after a year, I had enough confidence in me to do my first pipe and drape fabric backdrop with flowers. That was 2015. Events slowly progressed from Kid’s birthday parties to Graduations, Babyshowers then Engagements and eventually to Weddings and Corporate Events. There has been no turning back ever since. Fast forward to 2023, inventory has outgrown my garage and into 3 warehouses in the Bay Area, from a single-person setup to a 15-person crew and a few hundred to more than half a million in revenue.
My motto is – “Always provide MORE than promised.”
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Somebody once rightly said, “You are only as good as your last event”. The struggle to perform is continuous, the stakes are high and there cannot be a single event where I can sit back and take it easy:) The anxiety, stress and nail-biting is all real but that smile on the client’s face when they walk into the room, the hug and the heartfelt thank you is beyond all monetary value of this job 🙂
My kids were 1 and 2 years old respectively when I embarked on this new career, I gave up a 6 figure tech job to follow my passion. Weekends were no longer date nights, my husband used to be up all night taking care of the kids despite his intense corporate job while I used to be away making memories for my clients at events. I cannot thank him, my parents and in-laws enough for their constant support and appreciation of my work. With every word of admiration and motivation came more creativity, more innovation and the need to do bigger, better and more challenging events.
We also moved cities a lot, sometimes for better work opportunities for my husband and sometimes for being closer to family. Theoretically, it seemed like mine was an easily transferrable job; I thought just changing the “Cities serviced” on the website and reorganizing the small truck on inventory from one garage to another would be enough and clients would start pouring in. But in reality, it was way harder. Little did I realize that building a new network of vendors(florist, drape artist, rentals, trustworthy labor) was a herculean task. Building the network target clientele took time and it took a solid year to have a trusted and reliable team to work with in every city.
And along came COVID which crushed small businesses like never before. Business was leveled to the ground in 2020 and took a good part of 2021 to recover but luckily when it did recover, woah did it come back with a vengeance! In retrospect, the COVID shutdown gave me the much-needed break from the rat race and helped me take a step back and look at things that really meant to me like time with family, health, reconnecting with friends and new ideas for business.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an event designer and decorator. I work with my clients on concept, theme, color schemes for their events and help them execute their vision to life with my team. We engage in multiple video conferences typically over the course of 3-6 months going into details of the decor and styling of the event – backdrops, floral arrangements, drapery, ceiling installation, furniture rentals, dance floor, wraps, etc… In case of unforeseen weather eventualities, we are always available to provide last-minute additions like tents, shading, heaters, etc… I do site visits with the client, take measurements, videos, give them a visual walkthrough, come back to my office and work on presenting a 3d mockup / rendering of the final design stitched to their venue.
Our specialty and pride comes from our diversity of events. We can build Mandaps, Chuppahs, Ceremony Arches, decorate for Nikkahs and conceptualize elaborate scene settings for Fusion weddings that would like to bring in flavors from different cultures. I recently designed and a same-sex Indian Gujarathi – Chinese wedding and had an amazing time building and bringing in props reflecting both cultures. From traditional Indian drapery and lanterns to Fudogs and Chinese umbrellas, we left no stone unturned to give the couple their dream wedding. The challenge comes in when the client likes your design but has a lower budget in mind in which case I need to go back to my drawing board but that’s where I believe an artist’s creativity comes in. Trying to repurpose decor between events and using existing warehouse inventory to give the most optimal experience helps.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love that the weather is predictable most times of the year. This is important as a decorator. Since we plan our events months ahead of schedule, we know when we need to have a Plan B for rain (typically Nov – March), when we need patio heaters(Oct – April for night events) and when we need fans and coolers(July and August) 🙂
But I love California for its diversity and options in landscape. You want a beach wedding? Sure, head to the coast. You want mountains and Snow in the background? Done. Head to Yosemite and Tahoe. You want the woods? No problem, we have plenty of redwoods and sequoias.
What bums me out is the unpredictable traffic and the people’s lack of patience post-COVID era. I find vendors and clients short-circuited, the warmth is gone and everybody means business.
Pricing:
- Wedding Packages for a 3 day wedding starts at $30k
- Themed Corporate Holiday Party Decor starts at $20k
- Reception for approx 200 ppl is approx $12000
- Mandaps $4000 onwards
- Home-based Sangeet/Mehndi Decor starts at $6000
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dazzlingstreaks.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/dazzlingstreaks
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dazzlingstreaksevents
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dazzling-streaks-events-fremont
- Other: https://www.weddingwire.com/reviews/dazzling-streaks-events
Image Credits
Design and Decor – Manya Siva @Dazzling Streaks Events (www.dazzlingstreaks.com) Photography – Flash Folks Studios (https://www.flashfolksstudios.ca)
