Episode 12 (30 Minutes) Money for Nothing

What are you chucking out today, then?

How do you make money for nothing?

Don't throw them, don't throw them.

The answer could be hiding in the 30 million tonnes

of household waste we throw out every year.

Thanks so much for letting me have that.

That's absolutely made my day. I love it.

That's why entrepreneur Sarah Moore wants to get her hands on things

before they hit the skip.

I'm a passionate buyer, maker and user of old stuff.

I turned that passion into a moneymaking business.

I make new stuff out of old stuff, and I sell it for a profit.

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

What do you reckon to that? It's quite smart, isn't it?

-Tell me you love it.

-I love it.

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

Isn't it amazing?

-..valuable...

-It's quite a statement piece!

..and hopefully saleable items.

I'll take you down to the till. That's fantastic.

If Sarah is successful,

then she can hand the profits back to the very people who had no idea

there was cash to be made from their trash.

Wow, that's amazing.

Witley Recycling Centre in Surrey

is a veritable smorgasbord of unloved,

smashed-up items.

The range of rubbish coming in here today is fantastic.

From a bed that's been living in the shed to a chest that's well past its best.

If I can see potential profit, I'm on it.

Sarah, who's been granted special permission to be here at Witley,

is on the hunt for three items from which she can turn a profit.

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

If you say so, Sarah.

I can think of a few things I'd rather be doing.

It's not long before Sarah, eagle-eyed as ever,

spots Vivian unloading the boot of his car.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-Is it a new heating system?

It looks like the remnants of an old one to me.

Yes, more or less, yes.

I love copper piping.

Well, I know copper piping is worth something.

It's worth something to me,

because I love the way that even I can use the compression joints and

things to join it together. Would it be OK if, instead of tipping it,

to let me have it, so I can see if I can do something with it?

Yeah, I don't mind where it goes. My wife's Danish. Over there, they do all sorts of architectural things

in their gardens with all this piping and all that waste stuff.

Yeah, yeah. I love the way it ages and how it looks and you can polish

it up or leave it like this. And it makes great things, like lighting.

You're welcome. I'd like to see the finished result.

Definitely. If it's OK, I'll keep in touch and show you what I've made.

-I hope I do it justice, cos it looks like there's a bundle of it here.

-Jolly good, OK.

-Thank you.

-Fine.

There's a lot to live up to with this find,

what with Vivian being so familiar with recycled copper cast-offs.

He's bound to have some suggestions for what could be done with them.

Well, I think she was going to do some artistic work, was she not?

Is that the idea?

Vivian, we haven't a clue.

I love the fact with copper pipe you get all of these joints,

these compression joints. So, even I can use it like a massive Meccano

set. So, I think, if this is turned into a lovely,

luxury interior design item, there's a profit to be made too.

It's going to take a lot of imagination

to transform that collection of pipes.

Fortunately, Sarah knows just the people.

Say hello to Josh and Ollie.

Designer-makers, business partners and best friends.

These boys use naturally recycled materials to create handcrafted

furniture and high-end interior pieces.

I definitely love what we do.

I think we're really lucky in that sense.

I think what makes us different is that we have got original ideas and

we have got our own style to bring to the table.

Josh's background is in woodwork,

but my background is in graphic design.

It's a really nice combination and I think we've got some pretty crazy

ideas and we think quite out of the box.

Yes, I think it does make us stand out from the rest.

They do say that two heads are better than one, which is good news,

as it's going to take some serious brainpower

to make anything with this little lot.

With one item found, Sarah now needs to find one item to work on herself.

And you never know what might turn up next.

You could guess 1,000 times and you'd still never get there.

Oh, it's a Resusci Annie!

It is a Resusci Annie. A very old one.

Oh, look, extra faces.

Fantastic.

As the search continues, Sarah spots another plastic dummy

poking out of a boot.

This heron is the sort used to deter other herons from the pond.

Oh, and that's Richard.

Now, that's amazing.

You can't throw that away.

Oh, yes. They don't work.

-Have you had it by the fish pond?

-Yes, yes -

I bought it many years ago.

The heron is quite a bright bird.

It soon learns that there is no danger from this.

-Oh, really?

-Yes. It might work for a few weeks, but it...

No, they're too wise for it.

It's actually been sitting in my garage for a number of years,

-unused.

-Waiting for me, because I think I can do something with this.

All right! Well, good on you.

It doesn't involve a fish pond.

-All right.

-So, if it would be all right to have it

and save it from the tip

and I think he and I are going to have a lovely time together.

Good!

-Thank you ever so much for letting me have him.

-My pleasure!

I shall hopefully keep in touch and show you what I've done.

-OK.

-Thanks ever so much.

Now, what is she going to do with THAT?

It seems to me the perfect idea of recycling.

I don't need it, so somebody else can use it and make something of it,

that's fine by me.

I LOVE my new friend.

What do you think - attractive?

He's definitely been around a bit, cos I know this would have been all coloured up and stuff.

But I think because he's got such...

You know, he is just a heron,

I think it'd be lovely if I tried to make some taxidermy with him,

to make him look like a real heron, rather than a plastic one.

Yeah, because everyone wants an evil, bird-scaring deterrent

in their living room.

I think this could be a tough sell.

That's two items saved from the skip.

The copper pipes will be refurbished by Josh and Ollie.

And, the plastic heron -

well, there's only one person keen to take that on,

and that's Sarah herself.

Today has been incredible, with such a diverse mix of items gathered.

I can't wait to see all that bounty transformed

into show-stopping money-makers.

Sarah's first stop is a visit to West Sussex,

where, in a slightly unassuming warehouse,

Ollie and Josh are nervously awaiting Sarah's arrival.

So, we're pretty excited to see what Sarah is going to be bringing.

Just a little bit nervous.

She's usually got a knack of bringing some pretty crazy stuff

-along with her, hasn't she?

-Yes, yes.

There are endless possibilities

about what you can do with copper pipe.

Whenever I see it, I always want to pick it up.

I'm just hoping that Josh and Ollie

are going to have some original ideas

-of what I can do with it.

-Hopefully,

it's something that we can see some real good potential in and,

yeah, make something real nice.

-Yeah, hopefully.

-Having copped a load of the copper tubing,

and with Sarah seeing endless possibilities,

the pressure is on to pipe up with some plans to produce a profit.

-Loads of it.

-Yeah.

It's a good haul.

In this process,

it's all about the end product

and what you can make and then what I can sell it for. So,

I'm after horrifically commercial stuff

that's got a great high-end value.

So, I don't know what kind of stuff you've done with copper before.

It could be something ornamental.

Maybe candleholders or something.

-OK.

-Where we could make quite a collection of them

-that would have quite a good value to them.

-That sounds cool.

So, maybe that could be something we could do.

We've done something similar in the past,

where we've just used a little bit of copper and then...

-on the lathes we've turned, like, a base, or...

-OK.

Or some other wooden element.

You've got this, kind of, natural verdigris of the copper.

Yeah, those two textures together are beautiful, aren't they?

It just works so well together, the colour combinations.

And I think using all of the copper

for products like this would be a great use.

So, the boys are thinking of candle sticks,

using the copper pipe and adding wood-turned bases.

With this amount of copper, a whole collection would be possible,

but it's important to keep costs under control,

as Sarah is all about making a profit.

OK, so maybe it's better for me to set you a budget and then you can

just get crazy with the budget and stop when you stop.

Yeah, what kind of figure did you have in mind?

If I left you with 300 quid...

I think that gives us more freedom to experiment and, you know,

see what comes out at the end and

go crazy with it all.

Crazy sounds great.

Give me a shout if you've got any problems, if you have any more mad ideas.

-Just go for your lives, OK?

-OK.

-Thanks ever so much!

-All right.

-Cheers, Sarah.

It's nice when you get something like this,

cos you can experiment with the material.

There's enough of it here where we really can make a couple of mistakes.

But, at the end of the day, we can have a really good range,

a good selection of different products on offer.

So I think this is good.

This might sound a bit silly,

because we're just talking about a load of copper pipes,

but there is a real sense of excitement in that workshop

and I cannot wait to see what those boys produce.

With a budget of £300

and free range to go crazy,

what could possibly go wrong?

Back home, in idyllic West Sussex,

where wildlife is in abundance,

Sarah has been inspired with her very own project.

They say that a bird in the hand is worth two in a bush.

Perhaps that's where this bird should have been left? In a bush.

I have been dying to get started on this piece of pond life.

I have got great plans for him.

I want to cover him in fabric and turn him into a really high-end,

taxidermy sculpture.

I've got the base of an old clock here that cost me a fiver,

and I've gathered up a bundle of...

You're going to be tricky, aren't you?

I've gathered up a bundle of fabric. The right sort of colours, I think,

to make the heron look really realistic.

I'm going to start off, I think, by putting some fabric on his beak.

And begin the transformation.

Got some general craft glue here, just some PVA.

Nice, strong PVA glue, and I'm going to paste the fabric on.

It doesn't matter if I do it on the outside of it. It's just going to be

a really simple cover-up job.

Sarah is about to cover this heron

with coloured fabric to make him look more realistic.

This, I can't wait to see.

This isn't completely natural, but I think it'll be pretty effective,

by the time it's all in place.

I'm cutting out some little grey, feather-shaped pieces,

so I can start building up the pattern that the feathers make

all along this head section and down here.

I've put layers and layers of little trimmings of linen across this top

bit here, to try and make it like that fluffy Mohican

that the heron has.

I've cut little strips of it like this.

And if I just lay them on, and layer them up...

..hopefully, he's beginning to get

that really menacing heron look again.

Herons are unmistakable

in their natural appearance and can be found in

all areas of the UK all year round,

as they're birds which do not migrate.

-Interesting.

-Looks more like emu.

Oh, no. Why do I take these things on?

Unlike emus, herons eat lots of fish,

but they're also partial to other small birds,

small mammals and even rodents.

Interesting.

I'm hoping it's beginning to look better.

I like these feathery bits.

(But I'm not sure about that.)

You can buy a little plastic heron, like this,

for about 35 quid in a pet shop

to keep the herons away from your goldfish.

I'm hoping I'm going to make...

..three times that, at least.

IF I can make it look good.

That's certainly the challenge here, Sarah.

And you still have some way to go.

With the off-cuts of material sourced for free,

the only costs so far have been just £7.

The question is, will somebody actually want it when it's finished?

Back in West Sussex, the boys have taken Sarah's words

regarding mad ideas to heart.

If their plans are anything to go by,

things are about to hot up around here.

What we want to do is, probably,

use some of this bigger pipe to make our candelabras and anything we've

got left over, then we can melt down to make the joints.

So, we'll probably chop up most of the skinny stuff,

cos we want to create, like,

a solid bar of copper, where...

..we'd have the bigger tubes coming out of the bar.

So, that would be our candleholder part.

And then we're going to turn a wooden base to it as well.

This is sounding more and more ambitious.

Josh and Ollie start on their classic candelabras

by cutting up the copper that they intend to melt down.

The boys plan to use a method of casting called the lost wax method.

Although, with a slight twist, on this occasion,

it will be a lost polystyrene method.

That works.

Just a tiny bit.

The idea is that the desired look of the final item is created using

polystyrene, which, once in contact with molten copper, burns away,

leaving an exact-shaped mould.

With this polystyrene idea, it's not definitely going to work.

We have tried it a couple of times before

and managed to get something out of it.

So, I just hope that it'll work today.

Not only is this their own method of casting they're trying out,

but they will also be using their own home-made furnace. Yikes!

The boys have lined half an oil barrel with heat-resistant cement

and have built an air duct at the bottom,

to which a hairdryer will be attached.

They're about to heat copper to above 1,000 degrees.

Good luck, guys.

I've got a feeling it could go really bad.

-Why?

-Once the molten copper gets into this bit,

it could just run all down these pipes.

That's absolutely what's going to happen, isn't it?

So, we either go for it or try and prevent that.

This is making us look heavily stupid right now.

To be honest, this is half the fun.

I mean, if everything went smooth, it would be pretty boring, you know.

So, this is where it gets interesting.

Having spotted a flaw in their casting plan,

the boys choose the prevention route,

rather than "just going for it".

By packing sand into the bottom of the pipes,

the hope is that the molten copper will be prevented from escaping down

the hollow tubes.

And it's only until you do stuff

that you realise where the problems are going to come from.

Cos you write this down on paper

and you can't really see that happening.

So, you've got to actually get out there and do it before you realise

where the potential mistakes are going to come from.

If you say so, Josh.

In such critical operations as this,

teamwork is everything and clear communication is key.

MUFFLED VOICES

THEY SLUR THEIR VOICES

Yeah, I think it's going all right, isn't it?

It's heating up pretty quick.

The pipes just disappear into nothing.

I know. Yeah, they don't add up to too much.

Once the pipes have melted down,

Josh pours the molten copper into the mould.

Hopefully, this polystyrene mould works.

The moment of truth, guys.

Wow, look at that.

That's cool.

Sweet.

I like the green bits around there.

Yeah, yeah. Hopefully, it'll keep some of that colour.

It's pretty rough.

Well, no, it's smooth, but you've got the pipes kind of half showing.

Yeah, that's come off(!)

The home-made furnace has worked like a dream,

melting the copper down.

The casting, however, has not gone quite to plan,

so there's still quite a bit of work to be done here.

So the little bits of pipe that we didn't use for melting down,

we're looking through and finding the most interesting bits,

cos we're thinking we can make little candleholders or something

out of them by turning some wooden bases on the lathe.

Josh and Ollie don't just mess around with metal.

They're both skilled woodworkers, and can use those skills

to fashion ornamental stands the remaining pipes can be placed in

to create... Yeah, things like that.

The wood and the metal go really well together, I think.

Yes, just quite a fun, ornamental kind of thing.

The wood seems to be a step in the right direction,

but they've got a long way to go

if a profit is still to be in the pipeline.

I've made a real mess here, but I have got some lovely green velvet.

I'm going to cover this base...

..with some green velvet.

So, he looks like he's standing on a beautiful, mossy river bank.

Finish up here and then he should look fantastic.

You certainly can't fault Sarah for effort with this one.

She's managed to turn what was an unremarkable bird-scarer...

..into a remarkably scary bird.

When Sarah collected him, this heron was destined for the dump.

With a little fabric, pots and pots of glue

and what looks like a bandage,

he now stands proud, clothed in his plumage of many colours.

So, hopefully, heron has made a transformation -

from pond-side predator to top-end taxidermy.

With the heron all ready to fly the nest,

Sarah takes photos to show its splendour.

So, who would want a 2-foot plastic heron?

Well, they did.

Perhaps for obvious reasons.

Surprisingly, this little pub in Havant didn't have its own heron.

It does now.

Sarah met Richard holding a heron at the Witley Recycling Centre.

You can't throw that away.

Oh, yes. They don't work.

An ineffectual bird-scarer certainly wasn't about to scare Sarah.

I think I can do something with this.

All right(!) Good on you.

Sarah set about styling the bird.

And, luckily, knew of a heron-less pub,

who were keen to take it off her hands.

Now, Sarah has returned to near Witley

to update Richard on his old bit of pond life.

Hi, there.

-Hi, oh.

-Richard!

-Hello.

-Lovely to see you again.

-Good to see you again.

-You're not in your tip kit, are you?!

-No. Definitely not!

I've just come back to catch up with you with your heron.

-Right.

-Well, he's taken flight again. He has been transformed.

-OK.

-I've got a few pictures here to show you what happened to him.

-Let's see.

-So, he was given a new set of feathers

and he's been...

completely covered in a linen plumage.

Goodness! I love the way you've done the feathers here.

-That's really good.

-Oh, thank you.

You've done a fabulous job, I must say!

He is being used

as a decoration for a pub.

And I have £50 here for you.

Cor, that's marvellous!

But I shall give this to charity.

-OK.

-Probably RNID, which is one of the charities I support.

Oh, fantastic. Well,

I think that's good news that that heron has been transformed.

He's out of hibernation and now to support something like that,

that's lovely. Thank you so much for letting me have your heron.

-Lovely to see you again.

-Pleasure. Thank you for letting me see the end result.

-My pleasure, my pleasure.

-Take care. Bye-bye.

-OK, bye.

The heron transformation cost Sarah just £7 in total.

£5 for the plinth

and £2 for the glue.

And with the new feathered friend

selling for £57,

that left a profit of £50 to be handed back to Richard.

Well, I love it when the projects are a little bit of a surprise.

And I think Richard was really pleased to see what happened to his heron.

And I'm pleased that it's got a new home

and I've handed over some money for nothing.

With a bird no longer in hand,

Sarah is heading back to West Sussex to catch up with Ollie and Josh,

with whom she left a treasure trove of old copper pipes.

So, I left Josh and Ollie with a mission.

They had £300 and a pile of copper pipe to transform into something

saleable that I can make a profit from.

How did Josh and Ollie feel about Sarah's visit?

Confident. I'm ready.

I think she's going to like these. They're pretty fun too...

Yeah. I think she's going to react well to these.

Sarah left behind the remnants of an old heating system,

in the form of a jumble of copper pipes.

Ollie and Josh have heated and polished, hammered and chiselled,

and with a lot of trial and the odd bit of error,

they've created a magnificent, modern,

stylish range of candlesticks

and flower holders.

Wow!

They are FANTASTIC!

They are beautiful.

-They are lovely.

-Thank you.

-Great grouped together, aren't they?

-Yeah, yeah.

-You've had some fun with that lot, haven't you?

Let's see those. So, talk me through that.

How did...? So, what have you done?

Um...

-Well...

-Yeah, this was a mission.

The original idea was to use some of the copper pipes to melt down

and make these, but our set-up is sketchy.

So, we've made our own furnace

and it doesn't always work to plan.

Although our set-up is quite sketchy,

I think that's what makes them quite nice,

because they're not very...

You know, they're all kind of bubbly and that adds to the charm of them.

Um, I really like the way you have polished and not polished.

-Yeah.

-And you've got that contrast and stuff going on.

-That ageing, that's what's really beautiful about the copper.

-Yeah.

So we wanted to keep that, but also,

you know, shiny copper's pretty good to look at as well, so...

They are going to sell instantly.

-People are going to make these, people are going to copy you making these.

-Yeah.

When you get hold of one for the first time,

-you just want to touch it, don't you?

-Yeah.

And get your hands on it.

I think you've done...

..really well. 300 quid...

-..budget?

-Fine for us, yeah.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-I hope you can make some money off them.

I'm really pleased with this.

You're welcome. They were fun to make.

They are absolutely charming.

I'd say that's £300 well invested.

With so little to work with, the boys have created a range that will,

hopefully, provide a copper-bottomed return.

She was pretty chuffed with what she saw.

Yeah. It was really cool.

I guess it reflects me and Ollie, like, our weird...

Weird little creative side.

Yeah. They're just quite nice little things.

Well, never mind molten metal. Those boys are on fire, aren't they?

I absolutely love their copper collection,

and I think there's cash to be made here.

When Sarah met him at the tip in Witley,

Vivian had already seen the potential in his copper cast-offs.

My wife is Danish. Over there,

they do all sorts of architectural things in their gardens

with all this piping.

Sarah took a shine to the cast-off plumbing and Vivian had

ideas as to what they could become.

I think she was going to do some artistic work, was she not?

-Is that the idea?

-In the end,

it was Josh and Ollie with the adventurous artistic ideas.

Their beautiful collection was quickly snapped up by Nick,

who runs the online shop Smithers of Stamford.

-Is it the kind of thing you think you might want to buy?

-Yeah,

definitely. They'd do well on the website, yeah.

That's got retail potential.

-Yeah.

-That's front cover of serious style magazines.

-It's got such a great look, hasn't it?

-Mm.

-I want that one.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-I'll sell it to you, if you want.

Cheeky. I'll do the jokes around here, thank you.

With a final cost of £300

to transform the old copper pipes

and with Nick agreeing to pay £400

to take them all,

that's a neat profit of £100.

Well, Josh and Ollie certainly

worked their magic on those copper pipes,

but, unfortunately, I haven't been able to get hold of Vivian,

who dropped them off at the tip.

So I'm going to make sure that the £100 profit

goes straight to Children In Need.

Sarah salvaged two unwanted items from the Witley Recycling Centre.

Vivian's old copper pipes were turned into

candelabras and candlesticks,

and the plastic heron has been adorned with a new coat of feathers.

Well, I was amazed to see what Josh and Ollie did

with that old copper pipe.

They literally turned scrap into desirable designer items,

and with the help of my refeathered friend,

we even managed to hand over some money for nothing.