Dorian Bregu from Channel 9’s hit TV series The Block now calls Loganholme “home”.
The renos expert worked alongside Alissa and Lysandra on Season 7 and Mitch and Mark on Season 17 of The Block and now he has opened his own kitchen and bathroom accessory store, called Elenni.
Mr Bregu said the new business has been in the works for a long time.
“Elenni has been 15 years in the making, but when we were ready to open a business down in Melbourne it wasn’t a great time,” he said.
“It was during the peak Covid era, with non-stop lockdowns for two years. It burned many businesses and a lot of people lost everything.
“I was just waiting for the next opportunity to open the store.”
He said a holiday in Queensland prompted the move. Now he and his wife were proud owners of a brand new venture.
Mr Bregu said although he has been doing renovation work for 18 years, working with twins Alissa and Lysandra from The Block really inspired him to learn more about the styling aspect.
“On the show, I mainly did bathroom fit-outs and tiling – I’m really good at it. I think I’m a jack of all trades though because I wanted to learn about it all, I started in carpentry, then plumbing and went into tiling,” he said.
“I continued working ‘off the block’ with Alissa and Lysandra after the show and I am still in touch with them now, and they really inspired me to learn more about bathroom styling, designing and transformations.
“It really helps me now appreciate the aesthetic side of things, that also comes with the functionality of the accessories we are selling to our customers.”
Although he isn’t recognised as ‘Dorian from the Block’ up here, Mr Bregu remembers some stressful moments from his time on the show.
“I had to do a mosaic style tiling job for Alissa and Lysandra for a wine cellar they were designing,” he said.
“They ordered these small tiles to be slotted into each other to go on the ceiling, the ceiling was curved. It had never been done before and it took so long to figure out and finish.
“I also remember having to do a ‘challenge’ cutting an expensive 6mm tile sent in from Spain for Mark and Mitch.
“No one else could do it and they wanted me to cut it on the floor, which is not usually something that you do. I was so nervous and sweating like crazy.
“There were no spare tiles as they were smashed by a forklift, so if this thing broke there was nothing else for them to use. I had seven cameras surrounding me and I was stressing out, but I got it done.”
Mr Bregu said although it was a fun experience, he probably wouldn’t go on The Block again.
“I probably wouldn’t go on The Block again, it is a lot of time out of your life and a lot of things are very rushed, which for me I can’t just turn a blind eye to the details that are missed. When I do a job, I take it on as my own, so to leave it in a way I’m not happy with is just too hard,” he said.
Mr Bregu’s kitchen and bathroom accessory story is at 1 Bryants Road, Loganholme.
