Episode 12 Money for Nothing

Oh, no, I like the look of your rubbish.

How do you make money for nothing?

I love a little rummage.

The answer could be hiding in the 30 million tonnes of household waste

we throw out every year.

I think that I might be able to make something out of that.

That's why entrepreneur Sarah Moore

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

That... That's wartime.

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

and I've 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...

-That was brief.

-Oh, the potential!

No!

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

A work of art.

..valuable...

..and hopefully saleable items.

Holy moley!

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.

Thank you, I'm astonished!

Today, Sarah's starting at the Witley Recycling Centre in Surrey

and like all the tips she visits, it accepts almost everything.

There is everything coming in here today, including the kitchen sink.

Sarah's got special permission to traipse among the trash,

and she's always got her eye out for something useful.

I might keep this for a tea break.

I'll be lucky to get a break round here, it's so busy.

Sorry, no time for tea, Sarah.

You've got four pieces of glorious garbage to grab.

What do you think? Does it float your boat?

Maybe keep looking.

Oh, land ahoy!

Sarah's spied a couple of chairs belonging to Claire.

-Are they yours?

-They are.

How long have you had them,

and why have they got to this stage that they're going?

They've been passed from pillar to post.

They came to us from another friend who got them from another friend,

and they are not comfortable at all.

I sat on them for a while...

I'm going to have a go now you've said that!

They're not too bad.

-After a while...

-You actually feel...

You feel a little bit...

They're all right for five minutes, but try them for 20 minutes...

They are slightly, I can feel it going over.

And that one's got wobbly legs, so...!

Right, so, you've totally convinced me why you're chucking them out.

What I need to know now is, can I have them and play with them

and see if I can do something with them?

If you can do something with them, that would be wonderful.

They are absolutely charming, you've made my day,

so thank you so much for letting me have them.

-Enjoy.

-I'll take one, I'll be back for the other.

While Sarah gets to grips with furniture removal,

let's find out what Claire thinks will become of her pair of chairs.

I think she'll probably re-upholster them, put lots of padding in them,

sort out the legs, maybe paint the legs,

and she'll probably make them look absolutely beautiful.

And I'll probably really regret giving them away today!

I don't know why they're being thrown away,

other than the fact that they're looking a bit drab at the moment.

But in the hands of the upholsterer that I've got in mind,

they're going to end up looking fantastic.

And we're going to make money here.

Anthony Devine is one of the UK's most talented teachers

and practitioners of upholstery skills.

Anthony's appreciation of furniture design provides him with the skills

to bring old pieces bang up-to-date.

Some chairs, you just know. You know that this is the one,

and you just know you're onto a winner.

You can look beyond the kind of dirt and the holes and the grime,

and you think, "Yes, we've got a gem here."

And then it's a matter of teaming it up with the right fabric.

And then from ugly ducklings are beautiful swans.

It's going to need all of Anthony's creative skills

if the beauty of this pair of old chairs is to shine through.

I'm optimistically describing these as cocktail chairs,

I think they're 1950s,

and I'm hoping that I can create something really sophisticated

for Anthony to latch onto.

But they've got to look expensive.

-Anthony? Hey!

-Hello, how are you, you all right?

-I'm very well, how you doing?

-Very well, good to see you.

And you. I've got some gems for you, check out these!

Hopefully, Anthony will be feeling a lot more stirred than shaken by

Sarah's so-called cocktail chairs.

-Aren't they amazing?

-They are.

They are really uncomfortable to sit in, apparently,

and they need a really fresh update.

I was thinking you could loosely describe them as cocktail chairs, couldn't you?

You could sit and have a cocktail on it.

Yeah, well, I could sit and have a cocktail on a rock, Anthony.

Doesn't make it a cocktail chair, though!

So I'm kind of channelling Riviera,

something gold going on... I can't help myself!

Erm, yes, it's all lipstick and glamour.

Erm, yeah, I know what you mean.

At least they agree, I guess.

So I'm thinking fluffy, feathery, flouncy.

I'll make a pair of flouncy chairs for you.

Well, if anyone can, Anthony can,

and he'll have £300 for the makeover.

I think I stand a fair chance of making a few quid, don't I?

Yeah, I mean, I think it's just capturing the right thing with this.

-The right level of flounciness.

-OK.

So, flounce-o-meters at the ready.

I, for one, have no idea what we will be coming back to.

Anthony has got such an amazing skill set.

He can pretty much work with anything, so I've left him with

the brief to get on with those chairs and make them fabulous.

Who knows what he's going to produce?!

There's something just screaming out about one in the kind of volume -

a perm or something like that.

A perm?! If you say so, Anthony.

With £300 at stake,

let's just hope Anthony's transformation of those chairs is a success.

I can't wait to see what becomes of them.

That's one item in the bag, three to go.

Anything exciting in here?

Sarah's travelled to the Bredbury Recycling Centre in Stockport near Manchester.

It's a massive site here.

I've got hundreds of skips, loads of people coming in,

and I've got to sort out the chipboard from the Chippendale.

Well, if it's wood you're after, check out the bootful

of tree trunk treasure coming out of Barry's car.

You've been cutting that up beautifully, haven't you?

Yeah. It took me some time, that.

What kind of tree is it?

-It's a lime tree.

-Oh, OK.

So has that been annoying you in the garden?

Yeah, I was cutting it up that size for me son's log burner,

but it seems lime trees don't burn, don't make good firewood.

-Oh, really?

-It's good for carving or something, but that's about it.

Really? Can I have a closer look?

Yeah, of course you can.

The trouble is, sometimes I take things like this

and people just laugh at me at the end!

But I'd love to take a couple of the chunkier bits,

if that's all right?

What could you possibly do with a load of freshly cut lime?

Well, that looks like a great bundle there.

I'm hoping there might be something that can be done with,

-you say it's lime?

-Yeah.

Brilliant. OK, well, if I manage to get something done with this

or make something out of it,

I'll come and show you what I've done, OK?

-That'd be fine.

-I would unglove... Well, let's have a gloved shake!

-Thank you ever so much.

-Thank you very much.

-I shall be in touch.

-OK, thanks a lot.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye, love.

Sarah leaves with a selection of lime logs, and surprisingly,

Barry's excited at the prospect of seeing them again.

It'll be good, yeah, it'll be interesting,

cos she can obviously see things that other people don't

in her mind's eye, so let's see what happens.

Fiddlesticks!

So, a big bundle of wood.

It's got some redeeming features.

There's lots of it, that means you can do something with it.

And a profit would be good.

Is this a good acquisition or is Sarah barking up the wrong tree?

Sarah has just the people in mind who will help us decide.

In deepest West Sussex, Josh and Oli have forged a creative partnership.

They incorporate natural materials as well as metal, concrete

and glass, creating handcrafted furniture and sculpted pieces

with a contemporary style.

Yeah, 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's in graphic design.

But it's a really nice combination and I think we've got

some pretty crazy ideas and think quite out of the box.

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

Josh and Oli may be wizards with woodwork,

but will Sarah's collection of overgrown twigs

be just what they're hoping for?

Well, there aren't many people who will see

a bundle of twigs as a business proposition,

so I'm hoping Josh and Oli are among the elite few

who can turn this lot into something saleable.

I think the boys may have their work cut out with this one.

Not exactly a dream delivery.

-Hello, hello.

-BOTH:

-Hello.

-I've got something for you.

-Oh.

-Shall I bring them round?

I'm tempted to say there's no need, Sarah.

-Some logs.

-Wow. What's this, then?

-It's lime. It's fantastic, isn't it?

-Oh, OK, cool.

I know I've seen people who've used natural wood like this that

-they make stools out of.

-Yeah.

Those kind of three-legged milking stool type things.

-Yeah, those are quite good.

-But I don't know if you've done anything

else with it or if you can think of anything that might be commercial

or... You know, we've got to make something saleable out of them.

I'm sure there's something to be done.

-THEY LAUGH

-No?

What if we...what if we used it to make a coffee table?

-Yeah, we've got some big old rounds of beech.

-Right.

Maybe we could introduce that and just use these

as some sort of leg and make quite a nice coffee table like that.

-That would be really cool, wouldn't it?

-That would be cool?

Yeah, it'd be cool if you had a big old ring of beech

with, like, lots of kind of random bits coming out of the bottom.

-What, like a centipede coming out?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

OK, so it's a bundle of old firewood at the moment,

but do you think, if you introduced your lovely beech top to it,

then we're going to make money on it?

I mean, what kind of price would you want for making a big coffee table?

Well, I think because we've been saving those bits for so long...

We need to have a look at the rings as well,

but maybe like £600 to £700, depending on which one we use.

OK.

-That sounds good.

-Cool, OK.

-Yeah?

I just think turning that bundle of stuff into something,

you know, I'm kind of imagining something really beautiful

that you're going to do, it will be a fantastic process to watch,

so I'm happy, if you are, if you want to take that on.

-BOTH:

-Yeah.

-Go for it.

-Brilliant.

-Thank you.

-Thanks for dropping by.

-I can't wait to see what it looks like.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

So, a beechwood coffee table it is. With lime legs.

Well, that little bundle of sticks

could become one of our most polished projects,

but that is a real challenge that those boys have got on their hands,

and I hope they are up to it.

They're up to a big challenge.

Josh can even juggle, look.

With a hefty budget of between £600 and £700

and pretty basic raw materials to work with,

will the bearded dudes really be able to branch out and create

the classic coffee table they've promised Sarah?

In Manchester, Anthony's hard at work on the pair of chairs

he's promised to transform into flouncy, glamorous beauties.

So, since Sarah's dropped these off, we're up to kind of this stage.

This one's all prepped, so we've done the webbing

and the hessian is all on.

Re-upholstering the chairs will be a multistage process using materials

including foam, recycled felt

and the all-important fire retardant, calico.

And all of that will eventually make the previously uncomfy pair

much more plush.

We want it nice and comfortable, but this will all squeeze down

and then make a really nice, sharp profile.

So the finished chairs should be comfy and shapely.

Once they're reupholstered,

Anthony plans to cover them in fluffy sheepskin.

But before he does that, he's got a trickier job.

So we're going to try dyeing these skins.

We're not entirely sure how we're going to do it.

This is a complete unknown science.

This could go brilliant, and stumble across something great,

or we could be thinking of a plan B.

Happily, Anthony's going to be assisted in this endeavour

by his partner, Susie.

-Well, we've dyed fabric before, haven't we?

-Yeah.

We haven't dyed sheepskin rugs before.

Cos we need to get a specific colour.

We want to try and make rose quartz, because it's bang on trend.

Marvellous. To dye them,

they'll use a highly pigmented furniture paint diluted with water.

We have this colour here, this pink here,

which isn't quite the right colour.

We're going to try and put a little bit of this colour in to darken it.

Not only do we have to try and get this shade,

we have to get the right quantity and the right amount of water

so that we can get this the right colour.

They need all the sheepskins to dye exactly the same colour,

which might be a big ask,

as is agreeing on the shade in the first place.

Like anything in life, I prefer it being a bit more intense.

Erm, but just because of the volume of water

we're now going to have to mix with it to dye the fabric,

it will almost lose some of the intensity.

I think it's the right kind of...tone.

Shall we do that? Think that's enough?

With the colour agreed, Susie adds enough water to dilute it.

Nowt to this dying process, is it? It's quite easy.

It is for you, Anthony, because Susie is doing all the work.

I'm saying nothing.

-Come on, love!

-He might have to get his hands dirty during the alfresco

dipping, though. This is the important bit.

-Right, go on, then.

-Ready?

Ant's still looking work-shy.

Baaaah!

That's not helping.

-That's quite pink.

-You wanted it quite pink.

Seriously, is this how companies dye their fabrics?

Not exactly. They tend to use state-of-the-art techniques and equipment - not a rubbish bin.

At the moment, I'm a little bit like,

"Ooh, which way is it going to go?"

Me too!

It's not an exact science, so, yeah,

we just have to hope that it's going to work out OK in the end.

They've got a lot more careful work to ensure those sheepskins

all end up in the pink. The same shade of pink, that is.

Stop it! You're flicking it on me, stop it!

I think we'll leave them to it.

Back in Sussex, Oli and Josh have made a start

on the lime-legged coffee table.

They've been to collect the large beechwood round

which they've been saving for a special project.

This is going to be just as it is.

We'll try and keep the bark on for the top of this coffee table.

We're also going to put in some of these little dovetail keys

across the splits. One, it will stop it

from making the split any bigger,

and two, it makes a feature out of the splits as well.

Put those in all of the splits and hopefully

it should look pretty cool after that.

Because it's such a wedge, and obviously we want a nice flat slab

as the tabletop, we've just got to figure out

how we're actually going to flatten it off.

So just running through a couple of options trying to work that out.

Option one - the angle grinder.

It's very effective, but to take a few centimetres' depth

off the whole surface will take Oli an extremely long time.

What about using the chainsaw in some way?

-Just have to be very, very careful.

-Yeah.

Might save a bit of time, though, if it does work.

I think it's worth giving it a go.

-Yeah?

-Simple.

For any youngsters watching at home just now,

customising your skateboard with a chainsaw may look pretty cool,

but honestly, it's not a good idea, which led to a rethink for the boys.

We're just trying to rig up some sort of jig where we can slice

a bit more off the beech with the chainsaw.

But who knows if it's going to work.

Looks like your jig needs a rejig to me.

Oli and Josh decide that a towel for cushioning

and ratchet straps are the answer.

Take two.

Without this bit of wood, their table is toast, and there are

no second chances if this goes wrong.

I can barely watch.

It's going to be nice grain in there, look.

So far, so good.

Good luck with the rest, Oli.

Meanwhile, Josh moves on to the lime logs,

soon to be table legs, hopefully.

He's turning them in the lathe and using a turning tool

to slowly remove thin layers of wood

until it's down to the desired depth.

It's got a nice little pattern on the end.

And makes a nice pattern where it was held in place.

Pity no-one will see that bit.

Right, so I've just finished turning the tenons

on our three legs.

I've got to do the final sand on this top first,

and then I'm going to drill some holes for our legs to slot into.

So, really, the next thing is to take this beast

and go stick it through the machine.

The boys are making good progress,

but after all that chainsawing Oli deserves a tea break.

HE SLURPS TEA

Oh, Josh. Drink your tea properly. Thank goodness Oli has some manners.

HE SLURPS TEA

Don't copy him!

That's it, I'm off.

You'd better cut that out by the time Sarah gets here.

I think that makes me the winner.

Actually, she's worse than the two of you put together.

It's back to Manchester now.

And Sarah's heading to Anthony's workshop to find out

how he's got on with the two mid-century chairs she brought in.

And you know what? Anthony isn't his usual confident self.

I have to say, I'm a little bit apprehensive this time

because it's far removed from my normal kind of modern, urban styles

that I'm used to, into something that, to be honest,

I don't think I've even named or could name, so...

Yeah, going to have to see how this one goes down.

Well, I optimistically called my pair of chairs "cocktail seating".

Well, if Anthony's managed to transform them into money-makers,

it's drinks on me.

These mid-century chairs

were more stale beer down the pub than cocktails on the beach

when they first came to Anthony.

Well, they've certainly gone from dull and dated

to striking and unique.

The sheepskin is a lovely rose quartz colour,

and gives the chairs a real wow factor.

The material is from a duvet cover

and delivers a definite floral punch.

Without a doubt, these chairs are full of character,

but I reckon they'll divide opinion, and Anthony's about to hear Sarah's.

-They rock!

-Do you like them?

-I love them!

-The twins are ready to hit the town.

They're fantastic.

-Slightly bonkers.

-Of course.

Really cool, well done!

Thank you very much. I think they have a little something about them.

They're interesting, they are funky, they have a sense of humour,

and they look lovely. They look comfortable.

Sarah thinks they're fantastically bonkers, and you know what?

I agree. Best of all, Ant's stayed bang on budget.

Cocktails are going to be on me.

Yes, so... Cocktails on you?

Well, look at them! I'm going to make money, cos 300 quid on the budget?

Yes, I mean...

easily get that for them, would you not?

Oh, yeah. You put them right back into the marketplace,

because think of the tip, look at them now - genius.

Yeah, they're quite...

They're really cool. I can't thank you enough. Honestly.

-Fantastic.

-Another successful one.

Really, really cool.

I'm going to sell those instantly.

I'll tell you when I do, all right?

Confident words there. Let's just hope you're right.

When Sarah spotted the pair of chairs at the tip,

Claire couldn't wait to get rid of them.

They're not comfortable at all. I sat on them for a while...

I'm going to have a go now you said that.

They're not too bad.

And that one's got wobbly legs, so...

So, OK, you've totally convinced me why you're chucking them out.

If you can do something with them, that would be wonderful,

and then I'll probably want them back, won't I?

I think it's safe to say, since Anthony's makeover,

Claire wouldn't recognise them.

But she won't have the chance to stake her claim,

as they were snapped up by a regular client of Sarah's, Nick Smith,

who wanted them for his online shop.

They are absolutely lovely, love them.

Yeah. I think the wife is going to want to keep them, though, that's the only problem.

Everyone's a winner, and no more so than Claire.

Sarah's come to her home in Northchapel, West Sussex,

to show her what happened to the tip-bound chairs.

-Hi, Claire!

-Hi!

-How are you doing?

-It's nice to see you again.

When I last saw you, you were dropping off a pair of chairs.

Explain why they were ending up at the tip.

Well, they ended up at the tip because they were literally so uncomfortable.

And, try as we might, they just weren't going to work.

Yeah, so, we took them away, but did you think, "I wonder what they'll do with them"?

I did. I didn't know whether you would put arms on them,

whether you'd just keep them plain,

whether it would be a reupholster, so, yeah, I'm really intrigued to see what you've done with them.

Well, I think that they turned out really, really well.

Oh, my goodness, wow!

They have been given a proper new, new look.

They really have! I think it's amazing, it's really original,

and someone's obviously worked really hard to do that.

Well, in their normal state, they're 60, 70, £80, maybe,

for a chair like that, but with that kind of look,

they actually have a bit more value to them.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah, so I've actually got some profit here for your chairs.

They've been bought by a retro company in Lincolnshire,

and here I have £250...

-For you.

-That's amazing!

-For your lovely chairs.

Good grief, that's incredible,

considering we were just about to launch them into a skip!

Well, that's fantastic.

We loved working on them, they were really inspiring,

-and everybody who was involved with them really sort of enjoyed the whole process, so...

-Oh, good!

-Thank you very much.

-It's a pleasure, lovely to see you.

-And you.

-Bye-bye.

Thanks to the amazing talents of Anthony,

the chairs cost £300 to transform and sold for 550,

giving Claire a sizeable £250 profit.

Well, Claire's chairs could have ended up in a skip,

but they're now comfortable, beautiful and profitable.

Our first item's made a good bit of money,

and to search for another potential profit-maker,

Sarah's travelled to Walsall in the West Midlands,

where there's a place for everything,

and everything must go in its place.

In metal? In metal? Yep.

I'm now a recycling expert.

Expert, you don't say?

Well, let's put that to the test with a quick quiz.

Plusboard and rubble's down there.

-Ceramics and tiles up at the end, please.

-Yeah.

Anything like a sofa bed, you can either put in large bulky items,

or if it's a recliner chair, I'd put it in metal.

-How about cooking oil?

-Cooking oil? There's a container over there for cooking oil.

Impressive! Most impressive.

Is there a once-prized possession waiting to be cherished again

in Richard's van?

You got that well stacked-up in there, then?

-Yes.

-Wow!

Oh, my word. What have you been breaking up?

It's my... Well, my nan's passed away.

-Oh, no, I'm so sorry.

-Not long ago, but, yeah,

so it's just a couple of the things out the bedroom, really.

Just to get rid before we try and sell it.

-OK, would you mind if I look when you're taking stuff out?

-No.

Richard is happy for Sarah to have a look in his van,

and perhaps rejuvenating an item belonging to his nan could,

in a small way, be a tribute to her.

You bad boy! Look at that.

It was typical Nan and Grandad's house.

Lots of sideboards, lots of, er...

You're breaking my heart, do you know that?

I'd have loved that, I know I would.

Beautiful and useful, you can't beat it.

Now, I like the look of that. That's lovely.

Hidden in amongst the bits and bobs,

Sarah thinks she's found the perfect item.

So, tell me about this. You haven't smashed this up?

No. That was just on the end of the bed.

Oh, wow.

So it was all painted to look like wood?

It's lovely. I want it. Can I have it?

-Yeah, perfect, no problem.

-Brilliant, let me take that away.

I think I shall be able to carry that.

That is lovely.

Thank you so much.

If Sarah's going to transform this old tin trunk into a treasure chest,

she's going to need some serious help.

But don't worry - she knows just the fella.

Daniel Heath has a passion for all things sustainable.

An award-winning wallpaper and textile designer,

Daniel loves adding an artistic flair to reclaimed materials,

to create made-to-order furniture and contemporary design pieces.

When I was a kid,

me and my brothers would go and get bikes out of skips

and take them to pieces, fix them up, cobble them together,

tinker around with them until we had bikes we could ride around.

And that was great to just find out how things work,

how things can come to pieces and be restored and how things can still

have a value even though they've been chucked in the skip.

Let's hope Daniel can see the value in the old tin trunk.

This trunk is a very lucky trunk.

First, it was saved from the tip, now, it's going to see Daniel Heath.

-Hiya!

-Hello, Sarah! How you doing?

-Yeah, really well.

-Look at my treasure I've got for you.

-Wow!

What do you think?

It's great. I thought it was wood when you came in, but it's...

-It's really tin, isn't it?

-It's not the prettiest piece,

but it has got potential to be useful

and hopefully, in your hands, beautiful as well.

To make it into something else, I mean,

I suppose if we...

..sort of turned it over, we could make it into some sort of cabinet.

That's a great idea.

Do you know, that is actually quite clever.

Sarah could be right. This trunk is in luck.

You know, if we put it up on some hairpin legs,

it changes its functionality,

it makes it into a furniture piece rather than just a chest.

OK, so what kind of thing were you thinking?

Is it sort of like drinks cabinet or something?

Well, yeah, maybe a drinks cabinet.

I'm a massive cocktails fan, I can't help it!

I'm always trying to make people make things to put alcohol in.

Only ever have one!

Excluding the contents, how much will this cocktail cabinet cost?

With all the materials, how much do you think it's going to be to transform it like that?

I think we could probably do it for around 275.

You're making it into something that is aspirational, aren't you?

Not everybody has one hanging around at home, do you?

And I think that 275...

I've got margin to make on that and can I mix the first cocktail?

You certainly can, you certainly can. I'll have one too.

-OK. What do you like?

-Er, I actually like a White Russian.

-So, see you for the White Russians.

-OK.

I hope that Daniel cracks on with that trunk and finishes it really

quickly, because I want to be back here having celebratory drinks

and counting the profit I might make.

Sarah's intoxicated on the profit potential.

But I'm thinking cocktail cabinets are a niche market.

I'm really glad Sarah's brought this along, cos I think, you know,

I'm going to have to do something that I haven't really done before.

I haven't done a cocktail cabinet before.

So let's make this one into a really special one.

Daniel's agreed a fee of £275 including labour and materials,

to turn this dreary tin trunk into a glamorous cocktail cabinet.

Sarah has returned to West Sussex to find out how Josh and Oli

have got on with the load of lime logs she left them with.

Let's cover this baby up.

Yeah, so I'm really excited for Sarah to come cos,

from the pile of little sticks that she gave us,

I think we've created something quite cool.

I think we're pretty happy with the final outcome,

so hopefully Sarah will be too.

I love commissioning a table, but leaving 600 to 700 quid

and a pile of old sticks, that is a real challenge.

I hope the boys have pulled it off.

When Sarah picked up the uninspiring limewood sticks,

they were ready for the skip.

Oli and Josh have exceeded expectations this time.

With a cross-section of beech tree,

they've created a beautiful woodland coffee table

using the limewood as the legs,

only three of which touch the ground.

The rest add a decorative feature, floating as if in mid-air.

The beech top has been sympathetically varnished and waxed,

showing the wood's natural characteristic to the full.

Finally, walnut wooden wedges have been carved and put in place

to prevent further expansion of the cracks.

Hello?

-Hello.

-Oh, it's busy around here. How are you doing? Hello.

-You all right?

-Yeah, really well.

-Good.

-Is that it?

-This is that.

-It's huge.

-It is, isn't it?

-Come on!

-Yeah?

Guys, it's beautiful.

That is amazing.

-Well done! That's fabulous.

-Thank you.

-I love it.

-Good, good.

Are you pleased with it?

-Yeah, very pleased.

-Yeah, we almost don't want to let it go, actually.

Oh, really? Well, maybe we can do a deal.

That is so clever.

It looks like hardly any of it is touching the ground.

-Is it supposed to be like that?

-BOTH:

-Yeah.

There's three legs.

-It's so interesting, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Well, this slab of beech is such a nice bit of wood.

-It is lovely.

-So this is the bit you've been saving for ages, is it?

-Yeah.

I love what you've done with these bits.

They look like a nightmare to do. Are they difficult?

We make it up and cut it into the shape first,

-and then you can slice off your keys.

-OK.

And then you have to place your key over the split where you want it

and really finely draw around it,

and then you can, using a router, take out the meat of it,

and then you've got to finish it off by hand with a chisel.

-Just to get that lovely, sharp, crispy...

-Yeah.

-..edge to it.

So, these ties, it's mainly just a visual thing,

-making a feature out of the splits.

-Yeah. It works really well.

Have you counted? How old is it?

No, we haven't actually. It's going to take a while.

While you're counting that,

maybe we could discuss some other figures.

How was the budget?

-Well, I think we said £600 or £700.

-Yeah.

And I think we'd be happy with £700.

Well, I think you've done a fantastic job.

I'm very pleased with that.

-Good.

-So, are you going to help me out with it, then?

-Yeah.

-No.

Oh, Josh!

Some designers would be really stumped

if you left them with a pile of old twigs,

but Josh and Oli have completely made that their own.

Somebody is going to love that table.

She seemed really chuffed.

And, like, as are we.

I mean, this is a great project and I really enjoyed working on it.

And, yeah, it's something that we love to do as well,

working with big old slabs like this.

Sarah's spotted Barry back in Bredbury,

and he already had a handle on what his wood could be used for.

It's good for carving something, that's about it.

Really? Can I have a closer look?

Yeah, of course you can.

Sarah was so taken with the lime logs that she took them away.

In the capable hands of Josh and Oli,

it became the legs of a wonderful woodland coffee table.

In order to drum up a sale,

Sarah advertised the table on social media.

She has now returned to near Bredbury

to show Barry what became of his boot full of lime.

-Hi, Barry.

-Hello. How are you?

-Yeah, I'm really well. Nice to see you.

-And you, yes.

Loving your house. All these lovely old-fashioned details.

You're not dropping this off at the tip yet, are you?

No, no, I don't think so. Couldn't afford to replace it!

So, your big lime tree, that was in the garden here, was it?

Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Blocking all the light out.

And I took the little bundle of logs,

I took it off to quite near me, actually, in West Sussex,

to some great lads called Josh and Oli,

who love using natural wood in the round and twigs and logs.

So, what do you think we did with them?

I'd have thought something nice,

I'd have thought something like a wind chime.

I'm sure it's going to be good, whatever you've done with it.

-I've got some pictures to show you.

-Smashing.

Your lime logs have been put to good use and made into a coffee table.

Well, that's good, isn't it?

They have put pretty much all the ones I collected underneath

to make some legs. Only three of the legs touch the ground.

-That's brilliant, isn't it?

-Do you approve?

What a good job. Yeah, yeah.

-Really, really good.

-I haven't managed to sell it yet.

It's one of those pieces I need people to get their hands on

and really appreciate all the craftsmanship that's gone into it.

-Yeah.

-When I have sold it,

I'm sure there'll be profit to bring back to you.

So I don't know... If I can make a bit of money,

I don't know if you've got any ideas what you might do with it?

I think something like Teenage Cancer Trust, you know,

they're always looking for money, them sorts of trusts,

but Teenage Cancer, I think, yeah.

That'll be a good stopping point, that.

OK, well, I'm spurred on even more to try and sell it and I'm hoping

there'll be a buyer out there who loves it as much as I do,

cos I think it's a great piece.

I look forward to you selling it,

obviously now, I can give it to charity.

Yeah, great, what a good job, yeah.

-Smashing.

-Thank you ever so much.

-Thank you very much.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye now. Bye.

The coffee table cost £700 to have commissioned from Josh and Oli.

As yet, it remains unsold, which could mean a potential loss.

However, I have no doubt that a sale is imminent.

Well, there's profit be made on that table, and as soon as I've sold it,

I'll be back in touch with Barry and hopefully handing over a profit.

With just one thing left to find,

it's back at the tip and Sarah's on the prowl.

I'm looking for one last piece of recycling.

Come to Mummy! What's in the disco?

You go, girl!

Whatever Sarah picks up next, she'll be working on herself.

And she's spotted Graham, who's been fundraising for his

mini wildlife sanctuary he runs from home.

What are you throwing out today? What are you clearing out?

Well, we've got our bazaar on Sunday

and people do bring in bits and pieces.

Yeah, some of which are suitable and some which aren't.

Is that what were saying?

No, I understand that.

When you're donating things, you bung it all in.

I've got some old fairy wings in there, you know, and I thought, "No."

-There's a great temptation for me...

-No, no, me too.

Would it be all right to have a little rummage in your rubbish

to see if there's anything we might be able to make some money out of?

Graham takes in sick and injured wild animals,

something that Sarah's very familiar with herself.

Thank you.

I had three pet foxes when I was growing up.

-Good.

-I used to look after them.

Two owls and a kestrel, I had, when I was growing up.

Most people are happy with a goldfish.

Graham has already dropped off plenty of picture frames

for Sarah to rummage through.

Yeah, I'd really like to try and make some money for you.

There's one, that's quite sweet.

Look, it's a silver plate or something.

So we'll have a look at that one.

There's a little bundle of vintage and retro ones.

Maybe if I put a postcard or something in there,

I could sell them and raise a bit of money.

Bit of embroidery? Maybe. Right.

These frames weren't promising enough to make it

into Graham's own jumble sale,

so Sarah is going to have her work cut out with this a lot.

-Lovely to meet you today.

-And you.

-Thanks ever so much.

-You take care.

-OK, bye-bye.

The beautiful Sussex countryside,

the place Sarah calls home.

And she's keen to get stuck into that box of jumble sale cast-offs.

Listen to this. "My mum and me on front donkey.

"Fred in rear.

"Think I was about three years old, perhaps younger.

"Uncle Joe in boater, my father taking photo."

I would love to have seen who Uncle Joe was and what the boater

looked like and who Mum was,

but I'm afraid we're just going to have to imagine that.

They are such sweet things all with their little notes on the back.

It's a real pocket history of somebody's family here.

These may look like a collection of simple ordinary frames but you never

know what you might find, and Sarah is onto something.

No way. Look. Look!

Can you see them?

Can you see the one in the middle?

That's a lion, so, solid silver, sterling silver.

This is British Art Deco silver frame.

That is a little gem in this bundle.

I've got a silver cloth. I'm hoping if I give this a polish,

some of it's... Oh, look, that is going to be amazing.

I think there's about 50 years of tarnish on here.

At least that. You know, this is Art Deco, I'd say, so...

We're looking at a frame probably 100 years old

and it's got this pattern on it. It's called engine turning.

As you see, it's all very, very crispy,

and repetitive, because it was done by machine.

So when they first started doing that,

everything was covered in it because they absolutely loved it.

Great spot, Sarah.

Engine turning is the decoration of metal or ceramic objects with fine

geometric patterns similar to the patterns found on banknotes.

That is looking a lot better.

It is made of solid silver but there's not heaps of silver there

because it's quite fine, but as a design piece,

I think that's where the value is because it looks beautiful.

I'll put the surround back into it

and the back on it and then probably have a look

and see what I can find online to see what kind of examples...

and what they're selling for.

Finding that gem of a silver frame is not enough to stop Sarah

attempting to maximise profits from her haul.

And all it takes is a spruce-up and a splash of colourful wallpaper

to prepare the remaining frames.

Let's hope that looks all right on that side.

Yeah. No, look at the bottom.

Not annoying or anything!

Now, what about that solid silver frame?

Right, let's have a look. "Art Deco frame".

There's one.

"Art Deco sterling silver engine-turned frame."

Do you know something? They are expensive.

Look, even this one, £275.

I really like you.

These frames have cost Sarah nothing so far,

but can that silver frame live up to its potential worth

when Sarah tries to sell it?

Back in Walthamstow, north-east London,

the cocktail cabinet is in full swing.

Daniel has brought in his assistant Laura to lend a hand.

That's looking better already, Laura.

-Yeah, it's not bad, is it?

-Not bad.

They've applied a primer coat of paint and are now on the second coat

of the finish, a soft cream.

It's lighter than we were going to do,

we were going to do quite a dark blue,

but actually I think because of the size of it,

I think that would be quite imposing in this space.

So we're going with something quite light and then as you open it,

on the inside, you're going to have this glamour of the kind of...

opulent lining that we're going to put inside.

Opulent, eh? That sounds exciting.

How exactly will that be achieved?

This is the wallpaper that we're going to use.

This is our hand-screen-printed onyx skyline design in gold and black.

All of these designs are designed by me

and they're screen-printed here in our London studio.

I think it's going to be quite nice.

-How's it going?

-Er...

Yeah, it's good. I'm just thinking in terms of the hinges,

how you want the wallpaper to sit inside.

Oh, yeah. I see what you mean.

Actually, we probably don't need them, do we?

Because the hinges are there to kind of keep the lid open when it's...

-the trunk is the sort of normal way up.

-Mm-hm.

So maybe we should take them out somehow.

I think it might be time to break out the power tools.

DRILL WHIRS

-How's it going?

-Not particularly well.

How come?

It doesn't seem to be going through enough on this side,

but I think a bit of perseverance and we should get it off.

Perseverance...and a crowbar.

But even that's no match for the sturdy hinge.

When the drill won't do the job and the crowbar just won't cut it,

what are you going to do?

Doesn't seem to be working, using the...the drill,

so I might use an angle grinder, just to grind through this bolt.

Look at those sparks fly!

An angle grinder is a heavy-duty metal cutter,

so if this doesn't do it, I don't know what will.

Got it! Pretty tough to grind through.

That's probably why it's lasted so long.

I'm not sure how much longer it'll last now it's in your hands, Daniel.

Whoops-a-daisy!

It went.

One problem solved, but another presents itself.

The paint is chipping.

Daniel's been using a paint designed for interior metal

such as radiators.

It's just chipping.

But it might not be up to the task in hand.

I just don't know whether it's strong enough.

-Do you know what I mean?

-Mmm.

It's back to the drawing board for Daniel.

Back in deepest Sussex...

Today, Sarah is hosting a barn sale featuring her own handiwork

and others from local artisans.

And there's interest in some of her refurbished picture frames.

I think they're absolutely beautiful.

They are just what I was looking for. Can I give you £10?

-Really?

-That'll be... Yes, it'll be my pleasure.

-Delighted with them. Thank you.

-Oh, lovely, excellent.

Come with me to the till.

That's two frames sold and if the others don't sell today,

they'll be going straight online.

Sarah is now concentrating on getting the best price

for her star item, the solid silver frame.

She's travelled to the Bourbon Hanby Arcade in central London,

home to antiques expert, Ian Towning.

This is engine-turned, made in Birmingham in about 1926, 1927.

-What is important is the silver is in good condition.

-OK.

If that is in good condition,

there's a chance we can do something with it

because they're beautiful pieces.

With the silver being undamaged and Ian recognising the potential,

he was keen to make Sarah an offer.

If I was selling to an end user who is looking for a christening present

or something like that, I'd be looking for different money,

but I think that's lovely of you to make that offer

so I think I'm going to say - I'll take your offer.

You'll take my offer.

While at the dump in Witley,

Sarah spotted Graham with a boot-full of jumble sale rejects.

People do bring in bits and pieces.

Yeah, some which are suitable and some which aren't.

Is that what we're saying?

He was raising money for his animal sanctuary

and these frames didn't make the cut.

-Lovely to meet you today.

-And you.

-Thanks ever so much. Goodbye.

After some TLC,

a barn sale at home was the perfect place to sell the simple frames,

but the silver star of the show was taken further afield.

Sarah has now returned to Witley to show Graham what became

of his jumble junk and to hand over the cash.

-Hi, Graham.

-Hello, Sarah.

-Lovely to see you again.

-And you.

-It looks like you're busy.

How many of these people have you got round here?

Don't ask me to count.

When I last saw you, you were having a big clear out of stuff

-before a sale, is that right?

-Just a bit, yeah.

-And how did the sale go?

-Very well. Very well indeed.

Now, the stuff that I took from you,

-there was a box which had some old frames in it.

-That's right.

So I took the frames and used some old wallpaper.

That's amazing how it transfers itself from just a bit of old junk.

-That's amazing.

-Amongst them, there was a lovely frame, actually.

It was an Art Deco silver frame.

So I took it to London and I took it to an antique dealer

and he made me a really good offer on it.

So I did accept the offer

and there is some money for you, actually.

-Brilliant.

-There is...

..£4 here...

-Oh, excellent!

-And £200 there.

And that's all for you to do whatever you need to do with it.

You're joking!

Oh, my God! That is amazing.

That is amazing. That is definitely money for nothing there.

I just can't believe that.

-Thank you very much!

-It's an absolute pleasure.

I can't think of a more worthy recipient.

-Thanks ever so much.

-Thank you.

-Bye now.

-Bye!

Aww! I think that's the first time

Sarah's had a cuddle handing over money.

There was no cost incurred sprucing up the frames.

Sarah made £10 from the barn sale,

£150 from the Art Deco silver frame and another £44

from selling seven of the more simple frames online.

That's £204 profit.

Graham was clearly so pleased with that and you get a really warm

fuzzy feeling handing over money for nothing.

That's another success story.

So the pressure's on Daniel and his cocktail cabinet.

I hope he's fixed that paint problem.

Sarah's made her way to Walthamstow in London to check it out.

So, I'm expecting the rusty tin trunk that I dropped off

to be transformed into something fabulous

with the work of Daniel Heath.

He mentioned cocktails - I'm well up for that.

Hold on, YOU mentioned the cocktails!

I do hope that Sarah agrees that we've done something

good with this trunk.

But, you know, it was completely on its knees,

so I think anything that we did to it was going to improve it.

Yeah.

Nice philosophy, Daniel.

Will Sarah be toasting your success or drowning her sorrows?

The bold blue gloss paint was a brave choice.

It immediately attracts the eye and makes this item a focal point

in any room, just as a cocktail cabinet should.

Daniel's Art Deco wallpaper is a little bit lush and, all in all,

I think this will add the wow factor to any interior.

I'm impressed.

But what about the boss?

-So, are you pleased with how it's gone?

-Yeah.

Brace yourself, brace yourself.

OK... Here we go.

It's so cool, isn't it?

Oh, Daniel! It's really cool, isn't it?

It's quite fun. Um...yeah.

And lovely little brass details. Those are really good, aren't they?

Yeah, so the brass and the blue really complement each other.

Then we've got some of that colouring coming into the print in the back as well.

Yeah, nice to see that with the lovely wallpaper.

Those were salvaged worktops.

So we had some salvaged wood that we wanted to incorporate into it.

-Um...

-So it's got good provenance and a great look.

-Yeah.

-You can't ask for more than that, can you?

-Thank you.

We did flip-flop a bit on colour.

In the end, we wanted to have quite a hardy finish on it,

so we used quite a strong metal paint, so, yeah,

that's how we ended up with the blue.

Well, I'm loving the gloss and the detail.

It's lovely seeing it floating up on those legs.

Did you have to make them or did you manage to buy them?

I bought them in the end,

because I found a guy that mainly makes hairpin legs and, er,

thinking about bringing it in on budget,

if I'd bought the materials and welded it here,

it would have cost more, so...

-Oh, that's new.

-Yes, yeah.

Um, it had, like, an...

-Yeah, that bent catch, I remember.

-Yeah, which we managed to cut off.

And we wanted some sort of handle that brought in the brass as well.

It far exceeds my expectation of what should've been done with that old tin trunk.

It was never going to end up like this, and the fact that you have

seen the vision to do it, I think is brilliant work. Thank you so much.

Great. Thank you, Sarah. Cheers.

Daniel's done an outstanding job, and bang on budget.

That went well.

You know, it's one of the more characterful pieces,

so I'm glad that it was well received.

Sarah first came across the old tin trunk in Richard's van.

Now, I like the look of that. That's lovely.

-I want it. Can I have it?

-Yeah, perfect, not a problem.

Brilliant. Let me take that away. I think I shall be able to carry that.

And Sarah picked bright spark Daniel to give it a new lease of life.

The cocktail cabinet also caught the attention of Nick,

who sells to clients all over the world

from his online vintage and retro shop.

Now she's visiting Richard

to show him how she transformed that old tin trunk.

-Hi, Richard.

-Hi, Sarah.

-How are you doing?

-Very good, thank you.

-I said when we met at the tip that I'd like to come and catch up with you about your old trunk.

-Yep.

So I'm here. Have you thought about what we might have done with it?

Not a clue. I mean, there were some paint marks on it that probably needed cleaning off,

but not a clue what they would have done with it, to be honest. We were just looking to get rid of it.

It was an old trunk and no-one would want it.

It turns out your trunk was a very lucky trunk, because I work with a designer called Daniel Heath,

who is the most amazing surface-pattern designer.

-Do you want to see what he did?

-I'd love to, yes.

OK, so, I think you probably remember it looking more like this.

Yep.

And this is Daniel with his finished piece.

-What do you reckon?

-Brilliant!

-Wow!

-Can you imagine that your trunk

would ever have ended up looking like that?

I would never have thought it would look like that.

He's done a brilliant job on it.

So I showed it to a dealer that I work with

and he came along and snapped it up.

It's a great thing, and actually managed to make some profit for you.

Oh, brilliant!

So I have got £125 here for you...

-Wow, that's great!

-..for your old trunk.

-I never expected to get any money for it.

-£125 profit.

-What would you do with that?

-Excellent. Um...

Well, we're going away in the summer so we'll probably put it towards that,

to have a nice time with the children.

I think that's a great thing to do with it, and thank you so much

for taking the time, at the tip and today, to let me catch up with you.

-No problem at all.

-Take care.

-Brilliant.

-Thank you ever so much.

-Thank you.

-OK. Bye-bye.

I think both Richard and I were surprised with how much

Daniel managed to achieve with that old trunk,

and it sounds like the family are going to have a few special treats on holiday now.

So, Daniel charged Sarah £275 for the makeover.

Sarah sold it to Nick for 400

and Richard gets to put £125 into the holiday kitty.

Sarah saved four items from certain doom.

Anthony gave the chairs some flair.

The lime logs now hold up an amazing coffee table.

Sarah sifted out the silver in the frames.

And Daniel worked wonders on the old trunk.

Who knew that a few bits of old rubbish

could generate so much enthusiasm, creativity, and hard cash?