Episode 7 Money for Nothing

How do you make money for nothing?

The answer could be hiding in the 20 million tonnes

of household waste we throw out every year.

Just before you throw it away, would it be possible to have a quick look?

That's why entrepreneur Sarah Moore

wants to get her hands on things before they hit the skip.

I'm a passionate buyer, user and renovator of second-hand stuff

and I've turned that passion into a money-making business.

I turn old into new and I sell it for a profit.

Sarah is ready to sift through as many boots and bin bags

as she needs to...

That's vintage gold, isn't it? It's really exciting.

..in her search for tip treasure.

I love it.

And with some of the country's elite designers and makers...

What are we going to do with that?

Oh, no!

-..she can transform her finds into desirable...

-Amazing.

..beautiful...

..valuable...

-Ka-ching.

-..and hopefully saleable items.

That's £80 profit.

If Sarah is successful, she can hand the profits back

to the very people who had no idea

there was cash to be made from their trash.

Fantastic. That's unbelievable.

The bustling Merchants Way Recycling Centre near Walsall

can process up to 2,000 carloads of rubbish a day

and they take all sorts.

I love the fact you never know what you're going to find.

Check these out. Aren't they cool?

Sarah wants to be able to prove to the dumpers

that they could be making some serious readies from their refuse.

To do that, she's been given special permission from the council

to search for three unwanted items before they get binned.

-I like your Christmas trees.

-Thank you.

She may have just missed out on some festive treats

but with more vehicles arriving every minute,

it doesn't take Sarah long to spot her first item

nestling in the back of Judith's car.

-Hiya. Are these yours?

-Yes. Well, they're my mum's.

Sorry to bother you. Is it all right to have a quick chat about them?

-Yeah, sure.

-Are they a pair of bedside cabinets?

-Yes.

Lovely. Would it be possible to pull them out and have a look?

-Wow. They've got some age, haven't they?

-Yeah. I think about the 1950s.

-OK. Have they been in your family?

-Yeah.

-They're in good condition, aren't they?

-Uh-huh.

-Lovely.

-Do you remember these growing up?

-Oh, yeah.

They were Mum and Dad's wedding present.

-Fantastic. They would have had them since new, wouldn't they?

-Oh, yes.

-His and hers.

-That's right.

I'm looking for stuff like this that I can maybe do something else with.

If it would be OK to take those away, I'd love to see

-if I can do something with them.

-Certainly, yeah.

Brilliant. Thank you so much for that.

They're lovely.

It's a shame to be throwing them away

but if something is going to be done that's nice with them,

it's nice to see that.

I love this little pair of cabinets.

They're really sweet and they're really useful.

I'm not quite sure if I should decorate them, add some details

or leave them the way they are,

but I'm sure I can make money out of them.

Sarah knows just the man to help her turn old cabinets into new money.

Jay Blades is a builder turned philosophy graduate

turned furniture restorer.

Jay has his finger on the pulse of modern design interiors,

reworking the very best of British craftsmanship

and bringing it into the 21st century.

I've always had a passion for the kind of heritage

that the British designers have produced over the years.

Traditionalists would love to keep it as it is,

but to be reintroduced into the market,

I like to add a bit of colour and something a bit quirky.

I enjoy adding my bit.

I'm not necessarily worried about other people's reactions.

It's more about, do I like it? If I like it, then it's good.

Well, here's hoping Jay has a soft spot

for this 1950s wedding present.

Sarah is now searching for her second item,

but she's still found time to try and inspire Nigel

about what to do with his old shelves.

I love to make something out of anything,

but I've tried it as a planter and I can't find any use for it.

I know they do upright vegetable gardens these days,

so you can put them against the wall and grow stuff.

I'm going to take that back and put strawberries in that.

-That's a really good idea.

-I'm taking that home.

I'm glad you just pricked my conscience then.

Nice work, Sarah.

But be careful or there will be nothing left for you.

And don't even think about it.

You know you can't just grab something out of the skip,

so behave yourself.

Instead, why don't you sneak a peek

at what treasures Richard might be about to tip?

I've spied something exciting in the back of your car.

Sorry to bother you.

-That's OK.

-Is that yours? Have you had a long time?

I've had it, oh, nearly 40 years, but it wasn't mine originally.

It was given to me and I've been just using it to keep tools in.

Really, and you've just had enough of it now?

We're moving house, so we want to clear out

a lot of stuff we don't need any more.

It's got a great shape to it, hasn't it?

And it looks so battered and worn.

-It's really cool.

-It's got character.

-Yeah, I really like that.

I'm looking for things that I can repurpose or upcycle,

or turn into other things, and there's something about that

that is just so beautifully worn.

You can't recreate that and it's really quite appealing for me.

-OK, it's all yours if you want it.

-I'd really like it, I really would.

I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I absolutely love that.

-Thank you very much for letting me have it.

-You're welcome.

Well done, Sarah. I had a feeling Richard was going to come up trumps,

but does he think you'll do with his old toolbox?

I haven't got a clue.

I can't imagine, but it would be interesting to see.

I can't wait to see what she does with it.

I absolutely love this.

There's something about its chunkiness that is shouting laptop

or some sort of place where you put some technology.

It would be amazing if you opened it up

and you had a screen on the top and a keyboard in the bottom.

I think this could be a portable office.

Lots of space for other things.

Just really cute and it's got just about the right amount of patina

and wear on it that makes it really appealing to have on your desk,

a chunky little piece of loveliness.

Are you sure, Sarah?

A 21st-century office in an antique box?

It all sounds a bit far-fetched,

but if it's something electrical you want,

then there is one man that might just be able to help.

Meet Horse, electronics superbrain.

Horse was chief engineer

for a world-renowned audio recording company for over a decade.

He has now taken his love for restoring vintage sound equipment

and made into a business.

My name is Mark, everyone calls me Horse.

I'm an electronics engineer by trade.

I enjoy refurbishing vintage equipment.

I'm also interested in antique radio equipment.

It's always a shame to see stuff like that go to waste.

I think it's great that people are giving a second life

to something that would have essentially just been smashed up

and thrown in the rubbish. So, yeah, it's definitely a job AND a passion.

Horse might know his way round a circuit board,

but let's just hope he doesn't get his wires in a twist

when Sarah presents him with this empty old toolbox.

Sarah has now got two items crossed off her list,

but she can't relax just yet.

She still needs to find her third and final piece.

It looks like she's not the only one who's hard at it.

We're emptying garden waste.

We cut my friend's garden and we're getting rid of the stuff.

It's hard work, though.

We've got to get on with. Whistle while you work!

HE WHISTLES "WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK"

Keith looks relaxed, though. He's about to dump an old sofa.

Hold on, boys, hold on.

There's no missing what you've got the back of the car.

-Is it time for a new sofa?

-No, just cleared a house, actually.

-My sister was renting her house for a few months, she lives abroad.

-OK.

Of course, Heart Foundation has came down, they wouldn't take it,

so I just picked it up and threw it in the back of the car.

I'm impressed you got it in here! It looks like quite a big piece.

Shall I help you get it out?

Would it be possible to have a closer look at it?

Deary me, Sarah!

I know things are getting desperate,

but surely you can't be serious about Keith's tatty old sofa.

I'm after big pieces of furniture that I can refurbish,

perhaps bring into modern design and that kind of stuff so, for me,

this is a really exciting thing to see here.

It would be great if I could stop it going into the skip,

-and take it away and try and do something to it.

-Right.

Lovely, thank you.

Keith seems in a bit of a hurry to get away.

Mind you, I'd be keen to see the back of that sofa, too.

But what on earth does he think Sarah will do with it?

Well, I don't know cos Sarah says she can do a lot with it.

It'll be really interesting to find out what she can do with it.

It certainly will be interesting, Keith,

but is Sarah still feeling confident

about tackling this charity shop reject?

Part of me looks at this and thinks,

"I'm not sure I can take it away with me cos I just hate the colour."

But underneath it, I know it's got a clean, white, bright cover

and once I've exposed that,

I think I'm going to feel a bit more positive towards it

and I can cover it in some really bright, exciting fabrics

and make it saleable.

Everybody needs a good, comfortable sofa and this is one of those.

If you say so, Sarah, but one thing is for sure,

Keith is not hanging about any longer,

just in case you change your mind.

Thank you, bye!

So the sorry sofa completes a hat-trick of salvage swag for Sarah,

which she now has to try and convert into hard cash.

The bedside cabinets will be reworked by Jay,

the old toolbox will be placed in Horse's capable hands

and Sarah will be trying to bring a smile back to the sad sofa.

It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it.

I've had a great day here raking through the rubbish

and I think I'm going to clean up.

Sarah's first stop is deep in the heart of the Black Country -

Wolverhampton - where a thriving arts and crafts scene is emerging.

Leading the charge is woodworking genius Jay Blades.

As ever, Jay has absolutely no idea

what Sarah has in store for him today,

so exactly how confident is he feeling?

Depending on what she brings,

I will be able to see if I can work my magic on it,

but also Sarah will have some ideas

that might not be commercially viable.

Also, she might have some ideas that ARE commercially viable,

but might cost more for us to actually make.

-Hello, hello!

-Hello!

-Jay?

-How you doing?

-I've got a little something for you, but I might need a hand.

-OK.

-These are quite cool.

-I'm glad you said that!

-These are very cool.

I tell you what, they're quite light,

which is nice cos I've been carrying them around a bit.

So, what do you reckon to these? A nice pair of bedside cabinets?

Yes, we can do quite a bit with these.

The thing that I would kind of do with these

would be try to restore the outside and then inside,

just go with a fusion of colour

and, hopefully, put some holes in here

so it becomes kind of like a more modern thing

so people can charge their phones in there and stuff like that

and I might, depending on how the cupboard comes out,

I might introduce a colour there, but I wouldn't use a colour

that would make this look a bit too out there. It's going to blend in.

Actually, I like that.

I think a little pop of colour at the bottom, I think that's a good idea.

It makes them fresh and maybe change the handles on them,

maybe, as well, if you find something appropriate,

but obviously, you know what I'm like. I've got a budget in mind.

How much do you reckon it would cost?

I'd say this would be about £75 for the two

cos I'll have to remove the backs, work on the inside

and take off the doors, restore the actual...

-That might be a problem there.

-It's ballooned a bit, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

Depending on how good the veneer does come up,

I think you will definitely double your money on these ones, yeah.

Definitely.

Well, that's potentially great news.

With labour and materials estimated at £75,

Sarah could be in for a tidy profit,

but only if Jay can bring those 65-year-old bedside cabinets

into the 21st century.

Next up, Sarah's off to Manchester.

Famed as being one of the founding cities of the Industrial Revolution,

it is perhaps best known today

for its football teams and thriving music scene.

But it is also home to a man called Horse,

one of the country's leading audio engineers

and he has no idea what Sarah is bringing.

I'm expecting anything, anything at all, really.

I'm hoping it's something that will possibly lend itself

in some way towards being some kind of audio device

as that's kind of my main thing.

But I've no idea what it's going to actually be.

Well, let's just hope for Horse's sake

that Sarah's changed her mind

about that futuristic office in a box idea.

-Hiya!

-Hiya!

-How are you?

-Yeah, good, thanks.

-Shall we go into the workshop?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Cool.

-Thank you.

-Right, then, what have we got?

-Well, it's quite sweet.

Actually, looking at it here,

it seems that there's bits on it that really need some work,

but I think it does still open

and inside it's good, sturdy wooden construction.

-Yeah.

-So I thought...

-Yeah.

-I thought maybe...

It makes a noise, that's as far as I got!

-Some sort of amazing speaker.

-Yeah.

I don't know if it's something that you put and you open up,

like an old record player. I have no real plans for it,

other than the fact that it would be so nice if you could make that...

-Something to make a noise.

-What do you think?

Cos it's got a handle, I'd want to make it portable,

but you could still make a decent sounding

kind of like a ghetto blaster sort of thing,

and make it rechargeable, possibly, I'll look into that as well.

I was thinking maybe have it so it doesn't open,

so you can actually just house the system inside.

Speakers in here...

That looked a bit dodgy!

Do you think it will withstand the process? OK, that sounds good.

I totally agree. If you don't need to see inside,

there's no point in making it complicated, is there?

It maybe makes it a bit easier.

Maybe have a panel on the back or on the side with adjustments on.

OK, so to make something like that,

what kind of value are we talking about

in terms of what I need to pay you?

I reckon probably 300 to 350.

Probably.

OK, that sounds quite expensive,

but what do you think the retail price would be for something

if it's got really good sound quality?

Yeah, I don't think 450 is out of the realms of possibility

if it does sound good, you know, and obviously if it looks good.

-I think this has got the potential to kind of like...

-Break?

Sort of to look weathered enough to be cool but not quite...

-Useless.

-Yeah!

Horse certainly has a big challenge on his hands

and it's a big risk for Sarah, too.

With labour and materials estimated at £350,

converting the box into a speaker is not going to be cheap,

so let's just hope that Horse can make it sing.

It's time for Sarah to head home

to the idyllic countryside of West Sussex.

It's a far cry from the tip

and Sarah's dog Bramble is happy to see her home.

But, lurking in the barn, there's something

that isn't quite so welcome in this beautiful landscape.

The salvaged sofa is so unappealing,

even Bramble's turning her nose up at it.

Don't worry, Bramble, Sarah is sure to have a plan.

This sofa has got a lot of substance to it,

but it's definitely lacking in style at the moment.

I'm looking for a way to update it,

make it look fresh, make it look exciting

and make it look saleable,

but I think my best choice is ripping off the covers.

I'd like to surface stitch some new fabric to it

to give it a really light, floral, refreshing look.

First things first, let's get rid of the maroon.

That's it, Sarah. Don't forget to check down the back -

it might be the only way you make any money on this item.

That's quite promising, really, isn't it?

It's well made. It's improved immeasurably already.

Sarah should be pleased.

Not only is the sofa in good condition,

it also has the regulation fire safety tags attached.

But she can't leave it looking like that.

No offence, Bramble, but dog hair and white sofas -

it's not a good look.

So, what exactly is Sarah going to cover it with?

I found some of these old linen pillowcases I've had for ages

that I got at a car boot sale.

They're really nice and I'm hoping

that I might be able to make the back cushions for the sofa out of those,

and I've washed everything else.

But I don't quite know what I'm going to do yet, so I'm going to go

and start laying things on the sofa, find out if I've got enough fabric

and then get stuck in.

Come on!

But it's not just Sarah's fabric that is worrying her.

There are swallows in here, I think they're about to fledge.

Look, they have!

So those are baby swallows having flying lessons up there,

which is very sweet for them,

but I really don't want anything they might leave behind going on the sofa.

I think if the swallows are in here, I'm going to take the sofa outside.

With the sofa safely out of harm's way, Sarah can finally get started.

The plan is to cover the whole of this frame as it is

in these lovely strawberries and chintzes.

Sarah managed to scavenge these feather cushions

back at the tip, but before she can cover them,

she has to tackle the sofa.

First up, Sarah has to staple a base layer of fabric

to the sofa's wooden frame.

When you're doing this kind of thing,

don't hold back on the staples cos they're cheap.

But the effect you want needs to be really tight.

It takes quite a while to get the first layer

tightly wrapped in place.

Bramble's found a way of entertaining herself, though.

Er, excuse me!

But if the stapling wasn't taking long enough,

it's going to take Sarah even longer to hand-stitch

all the extra patches on so we'll find out later

if she really can turn these rags into riches.

Over in Wolverhampton, Jay ready to work his magic.

We're starting on the bedside cabinets

that Sarah has brought in

and just trying to get my colour scheme

to make sure that everything works.

What I'm hoping to achieve is keeping this as it is,

as neutral as it possibly can,

so trying to bring this back to its former glory and then,

inside the door, the wow factor inside.

So I'm hoping to paint this one colour

and then have wallpaper on the door,

and probably wallpaper on the shelf that's inside there,

and I'm just checking to see if this colour lifts this wallpaper.

So the colour that I see that has the minimal amount

is a blue that's here, so rather than copying this blue,

I'm going for that blue that's right there.

That little, minute piece of blue, I'm trying to just lift that.

Having decided on his colour scheme,

Jay can get cracking on wallpapering those shelves and doors.

He starts by applying an even coat of PVA glue to the wood

and the paper. Then, this is where you need a steady hand, Jay.

Mind you don't get any creases!

Sarah won't be able to sell it with a lumpy finish.

And that looks perfect.

Now, while the paper dries,

Jay can paint the insides of the cabinets

with the carefully chosen paint.

With the first coat now on,

Jay wants to see how it will look with the wallpapered shelf.

That is really, really cool. I am really, really chuffed with that.

This has passed the test of it being in my house.

I would have this in my house, just the way that looks now.

I haven't even put the door on

and the shelf alone just makes that.

I really like it.

If Jay likes the cabinets that much, maybe he can buy them off Sarah.

Well, you never know!

Back in Manchester, electrical engineer Horse has got

all of the components ready to build the new speaker.

He's even made a new handle for the box

out of one of his girlfriend's old belts,

but today, he's really stepping into the unknown.

The next bit is going to be the point of no return, really,

which is drilling a hole

and then jigsawing out the holes for the speakers.

It's a bit out of my comfort zone

because I'm not that used to doing it, but yeah.

More at home with his circuit boards,

just how confident is Horse feeling about a spot of carpentry?

I could have measured it completely wrong and then I've ruined the box,

and any chance of doing anything good with it,

but, I don't know, fingers crossed.

Oh, dear. This doesn't look too promising.

Let's just hope Horse kept his receipts for the speakers,

otherwise one slip with that jigsaw could prove costly.

With the first hole cut, it's time to see

if Horse's measurements add up.

Will the speaker fit or fall straight through the hole?

I'll just double-check.

There we go. Not too bad!

Nice one, Horse, I never doubted you(!)

Now you just need to do it all again for the second speaker.

With both speaker holes successfully cut,

there is just one more piece of carpentry required.

There's going to be a control panel for the volume on/off.

I've premade that out of a piece of chequer plate

that they'd normally use for fire escapes and things.

I thought it looked quite cool on this.

But I just need to make the actual hole in the side of the box now.

So there's going to be some tidying up to do, but, eventually...

This piece of wood is so that it's further recessed

to protect the control knobs,

but it's going to sit back like that.

I'll have to tart this up a bit, but it's roughly there, it's fine.

I'll have to put some edging around there as well,

some leather or something. But, yeah, I'm quite pleased with that.

With the box now virtually ready,

Horse just needs to wire up the electronic components

and the new mobile speaker is good to go.

Meanwhile in West Sussex, after hours of stapling and sewing,

Sarah has almost finished the new sofa.

So, the more I sew onto this sofa, the more I like the look of it.

I have patched all the way round really tightly

and I know you can see the stitches,

but it's all part of its handmade charm.

I can't make it look much neater than that,

so I thought I might as well really go for the rustic look.

So I've just sewn these panels

of vintage offcuts all the way around here,

using a curved upholstery needle.

With the patchwork complete,

now all Sarah needs to do is to add the cushions.

She made some basic covers for them earlier

by using more of the vintage fabric.

I can hardly remember what it looked like when it was maroon...

thank goodness.

Thank goodness, indeed, because the old sofa was so tired and worn

it was even rejected by a charity shop.

But now, Sarah has utterly transformed it.

With just a bundle of vintage remnants,

she's made the sofa bright and welcoming

and just bursting with old world charm.

And, after all her hard work,

I think it's time Sarah put her feet up.

So I hardly want to sit on it

cos I just know I'm going to have to plump up the cushions again,

but...

Now, that is a really good selling point because this is so comfortable.

It really is. It's lovely.

Sarah's success is measured in sales

and she always seeks out the best opportunities

to maximise profits, hosting regularly her own furniture

and clothing sales from home, advertising and selling online...

Let's get that online.

..or meeting commercial buyers in person to sell direct.

Seeing this is really refreshing.

It's good and people are going to want more of it.

It's going to grow, I think, this thing that you are doing.

With opportunities galore in the things we throw out,

Sarah is always looking to make money for nothing.

Back at the tip, Keith's old sofa made quite an impression.

Hold on, boys, hold on.

There is no missing what you've got in the back of the car!

I'm impressed you got in here.

Having served its purpose and being rejected by a charity shop,

Keith was only too happy to let Sarah take the sofa away.

Sarah said she can do a lot with it.

It'll be really interesting to find out what she can do with it.

Well, after covering the sofa in beautiful vintage fabrics,

Sarah decided to put it up for sale in one of her barn sales

and the response was overwhelming.

I've just sold the sofa.

Now it's time to show Keith what she did

and to see if there were any profits from the sale.

-Hi, Keith!

-Hello, Sarah.

-How you doing?

-Very well, thank you.

-Nice to see you again.

-Nice to see you, too.

I've got a little few things to show you about the sofa that we took.

I've got some pictures on here. That's the one, isn't it?

Yes, that's the one, yes.

So we stripped off all the covers from it

and I actually chose some vintage fabrics to reupholster it,

-and looking completely different, I think.

-Wow!

-What do you think?

-Wow, fantastic! I just can't recognise it.

It looks good, but did it make any money?

We did go through a bit of a process with the sofa and I spent £120 on it.

Oh, right.

-But I did manage to sell it for £1,200.

-Wow!

So, Keith, I've got for you £1,080 for your sofa.

Oh...

-It's all yours.

-Thank you! Wow!

Absolutely flabbergasted, I really am.

From the day when I took it to the tip,

I did not expect for this to happen.

With £120 for materials, Sarah made the sofa ten times more valuable,

which means Keith really is walking away with £1,080.

I just wonder if you had any plans

for what you might do with over £1,000.

-Well, I think I'll put it towards a holiday.

-Oh, fantastic!

That will be great.

Well, I tell you what, I am so pleased to have worked on it.

I love the fact that that might take you somewhere,

and it was really cool to have saved the sofa and made it into money.

-Thank you.

-My pleasure! Thank you so much.

-Thank you so much.

Over in Wolverhampton,

Jay is applying the finishing touches to the bedside cabinets.

Well, Sarah is due any minute

to come and pick these up and I'm in a bit of a rush

to try and get these finished, so excuse me while I crack on.

-Jay?

-Hello!

-Hiya, how you doing?

I'm very good, but I'm not ready for you to see them just yet.

Do you want me to come back in a minute?

Just give me two minutes and I should be ready.

-I'll go and have a coffee. I'll see you in a sec.

-All right.

Don't worry, Sarah, I think it will be worth the wait.

When she last saw them,

the 65-year-old bedside cabinets were looking tired and worn.

But now, with a delicate restoration of the veneer,

a splash of colour and designer wallpaper on the doors

and shelves, Jay has reinvented these relics for modern living.

That's gorgeous!

Jay is pleased with them,

but it's now finally time to find out what Sarah thinks.

-Oh, there they are!

-What do you think?

-They look fab. They're really shiny, aren't they?

-They are really shiny.

I'm loving the blue. It's a good colour combination.

-May I look inside?

-Of course you can.

-What have you done?

-Well, basically, we've painted them blue inside

and on the lip at the bottom,

and then put some wallpaper on the shelf

and also some wallpaper on the back of the door.

I drilled some holes in the back, so you can charge up your phone,

or your laptop, whatever you've got on the side of your bed.

Well, I think what you've done is give them that really fresh update

that means that people who have a funky house will love these

and they didn't look like that before,

so I think what you've achieved

-on that budget is really quite impressive.

-Thank you.

I think Jay has really managed, just with a light touch,

to make those cabinets look contemporary.

He's put that lovely designer wallpaper in there

and that popping blue collar on the base,

and now I have a chance of selling them for some real money.

I think Sarah's reaction was really, really cool.

She really liked them

and, hopefully, she should be able to sell them.

As I said, they will pass my house test, so let's see if she can do it.

When Sarah first met Judith at the tip,

she was letting go of her parents' old bedside cabinets.

Wow, they've got some age, haven't they?

Yeah, I think about 1950s, I think, Mum and Dad's wedding present.

-His and hers?

-Yeah, that's right.

Brilliant, thank you so much for that.

It's a shame to be throwing them away,

but if something's going to be done that's nice with them,

it's nice to see, that.

Top vintage furniture dealer Martin couldn't agree more.

-Who did that?

-Jay Blades.

-Did he? It's amazing, I like that.

Bedside tables, and particularly a pair, are really desirable things,

so they're easy to sell.

Martin was so confident the cabinets would sell

that he bought them for his shop.

Now, Sarah is off to tell Judith

what happened to her parents' old wedding present

and hopefully to give Judith a gift of her own.

Hi, there! Hello again. It's Sarah, how do you do?

I've just got a couple of pictures and things to show you

about your cabinets that you dropped off.

We had a look at them and we were wondering about turning them

into a cocktail cabinet or doing something with them like that.

-Yeah, yeah.

-But, actually, I took them to a designer called Jay Blades,

who loves colour and gets really passionate

about furniture and updating it, and mainly keeping it just the way it is.

He had some good ideas about turning them

into slightly more modern bedside cabinets

-so they could keep their original use.

-Yeah, yeah.

So I've got a couple of pictures that I can show you of them.

-He had an idea...

-Oh, they look lovely.

-Do you like them?

Yeah, yeah. And the picture inside, that's lovely.

Mum would like that, she would...

She wouldn't have minded a bit of colour on there?

No, no, no, she would have liked that and she would have liked

the thought of them being used, not just discarded.

I gave Jay a budget of £75 to update them,

and so he did all that painting and restoration of the veneer

and that kind of thing, and they were bought for £125,

so that means I have got a little £50 present for you.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

So I hope that's a good return and I wonder, with the £50,

is there anything in particular you'd do with that kind of money?

I think I'd like to buy some flowers with the money

for Mum and Dad, that would be nice.

-Mum loved flowers.

-That's really lovely!

It's nice to think that it goes back full circle.

Breathing new life into the cabinets cost £75.

It didn't take long for Martin to snap them up for £125,

meaning Judith can enjoy shopping for flowers with her 50 quid.

Well, I am delighted that Judith approved of what we did

with her cabinets and the fact that she thought her mum would like it too.

And spending that money on a big bunch of flowers

in memory of her mother, well, that's a very sweet idea.

In Manchester, Sarah is on her way to collect the third and final item.

When she last saw it, the old toolbox had some charm,

but no longer had a purpose.

But now, Horse has turned it into a fully functional

and stylish mobile speaker,

complete with a rechargeable battery,

Bluetooth connectivity and even a USB charger.

So, how is he feeling about Sarah coming to see it?

I think there's quite a transformation,

so I think hopefully she is pleased with it.

I think it looks quite cool. I'm a massive nerd,

so I quite like the idea of a Bluetooth-powered speaker,

but I'm not sure everyone's that fussed about it.

-I love surprises, Horse. How's it gone?

-Pretty good.

-Oh!

You're nuts, do you know that? You're nuts! Look at that! Wow!

So you've been really busy, haven't you?

What on earth have you put inside there to make it like that?

There is a very hefty battery,

so you've always got this kind of compromise

between battery life and weight, so that's the battery.

It's not short of a car battery, really, but it's going to last.

OK, so, normally, this won't be on show, will it?

No, no, no, normally these are shut

and then there's also screws to put on the side,

just to properly seal it,

cos you wouldn't really want it open. So, yeah...

Horse, you're really clever, do you know that?

It's got an instantly attractive look about it and this bit here...

talk me through what gadgets you've got in here and how it works.

So the on and off switch is the big switch there. Main volume control.

That's an input, so you can plug anything into it

that's got a mini jack connector, from like a smart phone or whatever.

This switch either turns it to the input

or if you turn it to the right,

it engages the internal Bluetooth receiver,

so you can just use it without having anything connected to it.

This is the voltage that the battery is at,

so when that drops below a certain point,

you're going to lose volume and fidelity,

so it just tells you whereabouts you are.

The USB charger there that will send power to any USB device.

-So you can charge something on there as well?

-You can.

I think it's that kind of attention to detail

that just makes it so lovely.

It feels like it's a well thought out design.

-Well done, it's cool.

-Brilliant.

Ace! You've aced it. I absolutely love it.

Shall I...demonstrate?

It's a really good mixture, isn't it, of retro and new?

Yeah, I think so, I think so.

CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS

I want to go on a big picnic right now

and have something really coming out of that somewhere.

It needs be taken out, doesn't it? It needs to go on a journey

-because of what it is.

-Yeah, yeah, exactly.

It's completely made for that purpose, so yeah.

I think it's absolutely amazing.

Thank you so much. I'm going to take that right now.

Well, I think this really speaks for itself, don't you?

CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS

Well, the speaker is a definite hit with Sarah.

Now, if she can bear to let it go, she needs to try and sell it.

When Sarah first spotted Richard's old toolbox at the tip,

it was coming to the end of its useful life.

-I've had it nearly 40 years.

-Really? And you've just had enough of it now?

We're moving house, so we need to clear out

a lot of stuff we don't use any more.

It's got a great shape to it, hasn't it?

And it looks so battered and worn, and it's really cool.

-It's got character.

-Yeah.

The characterful box just needed a new purpose and, with Horse's help,

that's exactly what it got.

Now, it's time for Sarah to show Richard

what happens to his old box

and hopefully she's got some profits to share with him, too.

-Hi there, Richard, how are you?

-Hello, Sarah.

-Hi there!

-How are you?

Yeah, very well. Nice to see you again.

I've just got a bit of an update about the box or case,

or whatever you called it.

-What did you call it?

-I think it's a case, but...

I know that when we caught up at the tip,

it was something you said you just used for storage

and you'd had for ages.

When we took it away, did you have any ideas what we might do with it?

None whatsoever, so I'm quite excited to see what you have done.

We decided we'd make it into the most amazing boombox.

Oh, excellent!

A music machine the like of which you've never seen before.

I've got some pictures to show you.

It went to a chap called Horse

and he turned it into this fantastic machine,

and he has plumbed in the most amazing sound system in there.

That looks amazing! That's a work of art. It's beautiful.

Now, normally at this point,

I would say that I've spent £300 on it and I've sold it for X.

-At the moment, I haven't sold it.

-Right.

But I've got high hopes for it. It's such a great looking machine.

I personally absolutely love it, but what I'd like to do is,

when it sells, just come back to you and give you the money for it.

Wow! Thank you!

So, despite this amazing transformation by Horse,

the search continues to find this unique speaker a new home.

But the cost of £350 and no profit generated,

this could be a potential loss for Sarah of 350 quid.

So I'm really disappointed that I wasn't handing over money

to Richard, but I've got high hopes that his boombox will sell

and I'll be back here with some cash soon.

So, Sarah's managed to make a profit on two of the three salvaged items -

the bedside cabinets beautifully brought back to life by Jay.

I'm sure it won't be long before Richard's utterly unique speaker

will be blasting some sweet sounds.

And, of course, we had the unwanted sofa

transformed into a showstopper by Sarah.

We have transformed, restored and repurposed three things

that were destined for the dump and handed over some money for nothing.

Maybe next time you take a trip to the tip, I could do the same for you.