Episode 6 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.

-OK.

I think 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,

and 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?

-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...

That's quite a statement piece!

..and, hopefully, saleable items.

-I'll take you down to the till, that's fantastic!

-OK, 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!

Sarah's starting her search in Surrey today,

at the delightful Whitley Recycling Centre.

Where other people see trash, I see profit.

Making desirable items out of old rubbish is so satisfying.

She's on a mission to find four items that can be transformed to

treasure and hopefully make some money along the way.

-Pat Butcher?

-Very becoming, Sarah.

Before Sarah was let loose on the tip, she had to seek special

permission to do so by those nice recycling centre owners.

There is nothing going through here that is going to escape me.

I am not letting the good stuff hit that tip.

Speaking of the good stuff,

it looks like Carl might have just that in the back of his Jeep.

Oh, now, that's the best boot-full I've seen all day.

-Yeah, they're a bit tired.

-Are they yours?

-My mum and dad's, yeah.

-Fantastic.

Do you think they bought them new?

Ooh, they're heavy, aren't they?

I don't think... I don't think they bought them brand-new.

I think they've had them about 25 years.

They look like they're sort of 1930s, '40s, something like that.

-How many have you got?

-Six.

-Six? Oh, my word.

It's my lucky, lucky day.

Hold on, I'm going to line them up so they're out of the way.

Some people are very easily pleased.

They've got such a great look to them.

It's such a shame the seats are going,

but the tops look like they're salvageable, don't they?

This one is the worst one.

I just don't know...

I don't know what's best to do with them,

in order to mend them but I know somebody who takes on this

kind of thing all the time, so they're coming to...

they'll go to somewhere we can really sort them out.

I'm going to check one out. I bet they're comfortable, aren't they?

-So, have they got a nice, new set of them?

-Yes.

I'm so pleased for them cos I get their old ones. That's amazing.

They've got fantastic style and a really good look to them

so I'm really pleased you're going to let me have them. Thanks so much.

I really appreciate it. Take care.

Sarah has taken on not one but six old, battered chairs.

The mind boggles.

What does Carl think?

They're a bit of a tired state,

but apparently there's going to be something good happening

to them so I'm quite looking forward to seeing what happens.

You and me both, Carl.

These are absolutely cracking.

There are six of them,

they've got beautiful, worn leather on the backs of them.

Unfortunately, the seat pads have really deteriorated

but the style of these is amazing. It's bang on trend.

Got lovely, pale grey and some lined oak coming down here on the legs.

These are absolutely cracking.

Are they? Really?

Never mind cracking, they look more cracked to me.

I know just the person who can restore those seats

and I'm going to be sitting on a pretty penny here.

Jay Blades is a builder turned philosophy graduate

turned furniture restorer.

Jay's passion is modern interior design.

He specialises in reworking the very best of British craftsmanship

and bringing it into the 21st century.

If you want to have a go at what I do, your best bet is to find

a piece of furniture that isn't really worth that much money.

You might have bought it in a charity shop

or a car-boot sale for about £5.

And just play around with it.

Some people like working with spray cans.

Some people like working with artist brushes.

Whatever your creativity is, allow it to just ooze onto the furniture

cos the reality is that furniture

was more than likely going to go into a landfill site.

So you upcycling it gives that piece of furniture

an extended lifetime.

But can you extend the life of this set of worn-out chairs?

Another workout. I love these chairs.

It's not often that you find a set that turns up in a tip

and such a stylish one is a really rare thing.

I'm hoping Jay can give them a sympathetic update that keeps

all their original qualities but gives them something special.

I need a hand getting them in.

Say no more, Jay's your man.

-Yeah, they are definitely special.

-Oh, he sounds keen.

-So, what do you think?

-I think these are quality. Tiptop quality.

They were certainly top of the tip.

-These were going to be thrown away?

-Yes.

-Seriously?

-Seriously.

I'm really pleased that I happened to be there on the day

that these turned up because there are six of them, a set.

-They're in good nick apart from the obvious seat problem.

-Yeah!

I don't know who's made these, but these are really a joy.

These are really, really beautiful.

Jay's really taken with the quality construction of the oak chairs

but how would he restore them?

Now, I know you're a man with your own ideas,

so, come on, what would you do?

I have too many ideas, that's my problem.

We should be able to bring them back to the 21st century,

bring them up to today and really give them a beautiful punch.

Is it possible at this stage that you can pluck

a figure out that you think, to refurbish the whole lot?

It's probably really difficult

to put a figure on it without knowing exactly what they are,

so, do you want to come back to me when you've had a chance to do a bit

of research and we can make a plan

about which direction we're going in?

Yeah, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I just do

a little bit of research and a little bit of taking apart.

I am really happy to leave them in your hands.

I know that you're going to do right by them.

Sarah is taking a massive risk here.

She's leaving Jay with a big job

that has no plan to speak of and no budget agreed.

So Jay has got a bit of work to do researching those chairs before

he decides exactly what is the best path for them but I know they're in

really safe hands and I'm hoping that when

he updates them they'll be even more valuable.

I cannot wait to start dissecting them.

I don't know what I'm going to put on there

until I've taken them apart.

Cos then the chairs will reveal themselves to me.

Once the wood has been fully restored

and we've glued things back, then it will say to me,

"This is what I need you to put onto me."

And I cannot do that until they are naked.

And, at the moment, they are fully dressed.

Sarah will have to wait until Jay has done his detective work on

the six chairs to find out what that little lot might cost her.

But, with no clear brief or budget,

will this project spiral out of control?

That's the first item on the way and there's no time to hang around

as Sarah still has three more to find.

Sarah's now at the Walsall Recycling Centre in Greater Manchester.

Treasure time! Come to Mama!

With her eagle eyes, if she sees an opportunity, she will swoop.

Like a bird of prey.

Except that's a pigeon, but, you know, you get the idea.

The ever vigilant Sarah has spotted Alan arriving with... I have no idea.

Sarah swoops in for a closer look.

Oh, hiya.

You've got some interesting-looking things in there.

What are you throwing out?

Just stuff from my late mother-in-law's house.

OK, that sounds like a big job. Are you clearing out lots of stuff?

Not too much. Not too much.

But just some of the bulky, heavy stuff.

It's a shame in a way, but we don't really know where else to take it

-other than the tip, so...

-No, you definitely get to that stage.

I know there are so many things with furniture that you can't

re-use unless they've got the right certificates and stuff.

-I'd love to have a look at it. Is there any chance I can see?

-Yeah.

Wow. It's quite cool, isn't it? Does it move?

-No, there's just... There used to be...

-A table that came out of that.

A table, there.

-A similar design one that's all leather as well.

-Really?

With these two wing-backed chairs,

she could be onto something good here.

A pair of chairs. How exciting.

Well done. Wow.

I have to say, that both those chairs are really interesting

because they're old, they're chunky.

In a way, I'm glad that they are going to be reused because they do

seem too good to throw out,

but there are just so big in a small bungalow, which is where she is.

If I could take those two chairs, and then, if I managed to do

-something with them, could I come and show you what I have done?

-Yes.

That would be lovely.

Lovely indeed.

Sarah has her first find in the bag

and has roped the guys from the tip in to help. Good work, lads.

But what does Alan think Sarah will get up to with his chairs?

I don't know. It makes me think, really.

I presume it's not going to be just recycled as furniture, but something

else, so it'll be interesting to see what happens to them.

I'll just tell you if they're comfortable, cos that is the key.

Oh, yeah.

That's actually got "IKEA" written on the back,

so it's not as old as you think it is.

-Everyone's a comedian.

-Very comfortable.

But the look they have at the moment

is just not going to go into everybody's house

and I want to make them commercial, saleable and expensive.

And given the style of them, this needs a specialist upholsterer.

This is going to have to go to somebody who really knows what

they're doing, who can cope with the fact that there's wood and fabric.

I've got just the person in mind.

Meet Ray Clarke, upholsterer extraordinaire.

Ray made a name for himself in the world of fashion design,

before discovering his love of vintage furniture.

His fresh, modern designs mix practicality, comfort and luxury.

I never intended to become an upholsterer at the beginning.

It wasn't the thing I set out to do.

I suppose you could say upholstery found me.

With my creative background in fashion design and textile design,

I was able to use those skills and redirect them.

Now, this is all I do. I just give birth to chairs. I love them. Yeah.

Normally weight is a benchmark for quality.

This is definitely heavy but if it's quality, I'm not sure.

I'm hoping that between the pair of chairs we're going to be able

to create something really lovely

and Ray is going to take up the challenge.

-Ray, how are you? How are you doing?

-Good to see you.

I've got a couple of little... I'm not going to say beauties.

I've got a couple of little chairs for you.

Any chance you can give me a hand? This one is really heavy. Hold on.

Is that all right up there?

Lovely.

So these two came into the tip as a pair.

But they don't have to stay together.

I'd much rather work on this one, to be honest than this one, I think.

Simply because this one's got a lot more character.

The orange chair will be put aside

so Ray can concentrate on the black one.

I did wonder about just really making it pack a punch.

Well, actually, Sarah, truth to tell,

-I've been kind of developing my own fabric.

-Really?

-So that's a new thing for you?

-Yes. Completely.

What kind of fabric is it?

Fabric is based on different types of new world and old world monkeys.

Are you going to be able to nail it in time to get it on here?

-I think so.

-So, it sounds like, to me,

you're going to pour your heart and soul into this little chair.

It will be a work of art.

Ray's dreaming big, but what will his time and materials cost?

So, we're looking at around 800, 850 mark.

OK, if I can leave you chiselling away at the cost,

if I need it around £800, I love the idea of the monkeys, so...

It's going to rock. It's going to rock. Go for it, OK? Thank you.

-Take care.

-Thank you very much.

Yes! Yes.

I think he's pretty happy with this project.

Well, that chair sounds like it's going to look amazing and

I don't want to hamper Ray's creativity, so I think saying yes

to a lot of monkey business all over it is definitely the way to go.

And I think I'm going to have a little chance

of making a bit of profit. Fingers crossed.

This is awesome.

Oh, sorry, it's very difficult to contain my emotions, I'm sorry.

No apology needed.

Ray has a big budget of around £800 to remake that chair,

but he's never created a new fabric for upholstery before,

so Sarah's taking a risk on this one.

Back to the west Midlands now and the city of Wolverhampton,

home to master restorer Jay Blades, who can't wait to get going.

Sarah dropped off these beautiful oak chairs, absolutely beautiful.

Jay is a big fan of these quality handmade chairs,

which probably date from the 1940s.

My job today is just to remove stuff really carefully.

Yep, this is going to be a real labour of love for Jay.

He's going to reupholster all six chairs

whilst maintaining their original handmade features.

Good luck, Jay!

So enough with the talking. Um...

-Let's get stripping.

-Wahey!

The chair. Not me.

RECORD SCRATCH Oh, I see. Sorry.

Jay gets down to moving the tack which secure the chair's piping

with the appropriately-named tack-lifting tool.

And it's not long before he spots a piece of impressive craftsmanship.

That's amazing. They've actually stitched,

and it looks like they hand-stitched underneath here, the leather.

Now that in itself... Come on, who does that in this day and age?

That is just sheer craftsmanship.

Everything that I discover about the chairs...

CAMERA CLICKS

..will then be reflected back into the chair,

and how I work with it, the fabric I choose.

And also, ultimately, the price.

But I don't want to outprice either myself or Sarah,

who's then going to sell these on.

The challenge for Jay is to comprehensively modernise the chairs

whilst keeping an eye on his labour costs.

He hasn't yet agreed a budget with Sarah,

and she'll want to stand a chance of turning a profit.

He gets straight to work,

removing the chair's old, disintegrating coverings,

supporting webbings and stuffing...

..all of which need to be replaced.

With that done, Jay starts building a chair back up.

Got to put new, new webbing on there.

He's using a tool called a webbing stretcher

to make sure the seat base is taut.

Doing webbing is very similar to tuning a fine instrument -

-you have to get it...

-WEBBING TWANGS

..where it makes a really lovely sound.

Because, basically, the webbing is the foundation...

..that's going to hold all of the seat in place

for the next 50 to 100 years, hopefully.

Once Jay's fitted the new webbing,

he still has to work out how he'll cover them.

The chair...

HE CHUCKLES

..is really, really cool.

It's a beautiful form chair.

Yeah, we know you love them, Jay, but there's loads of work to do,

and still no word on the budget.

Will he be able to deliver six sympathetically-restored

and reupholstered chairs that Sarah will be able to make some profit on?

Back in busy East London, Ray's hard at work on the wingback armchair.

In fact, he seems to have ripped it to bits.

Hmm.

I've basically gone a bit nuts on the chair.

I've stripped it back down to bare word

so I can get it prepared for a new colour of wood stain.

Ray needs to remove all of the chairs' dated upholstery

and strip the wooden frame before he can begin to modernise it.

He's got a big budget of around £800 to do that,

but time is money, and this is a seriously time-consuming job.

I hate it when they snap off.

Takes, like, patience and some determination as well.

-THROUGH GRITTED TEETH:

-Argh! They keep snapping off!

Great patience, yeah(!)

Ray's also been hard at work on the real stars of this piece,

his menagerie of monkeys.

I've just looked up certain types of monkeys, and just illustrated them.

His signature fabric will be printed up from his monkey sketches.

Because of the types of monkey I've chosen as well,

they give me an opportunity to maybe explore colour

in quite a vast range.

So you've got the gold of the tamarin here,

and then you go on to the red howler,

and then there's a black howler as well.

So, hopefully, this will be more of a surprise for Sarah

when she gets to see this,

cos I really didn't have a chance to show her.

His final designs will be sent to a fabric printing company

to be transferred onto a velvety fabric.

Obviously, I want the print process to go quite well,

to capture all the definition, or as much of the definition as possible.

But I'm also asking a tall order,

because I realise what I'm asking for

is the illustrations to go into a pile fabric,

as opposed to just a plain, flat fabric.

So there may be some compromise I might have to make at some point.

But, um, we'll see.

It's getting me all lumpy in the throat as well at the moment,

I'm that excited.

Ray's passionate about his monkey designs,

but he still has a lot of work to do on that chair.

Once his labour costs are factored in,

can he really manage to deliver it on Sarah's budget?

From London to the East Midlands,

where chairs of a very different kind

have been given the once-over by Jay.

Now, if I remember right, Sarah wanted to keep things...simple.

But, knowing Jay...

Oh, what's that?!

Sarah probably wanted me to do more of a classical

kind of restoration of them.

You haven't gone as mad as I normally would go,

but I've done something that's really tasteful, I believe.

They're probably some of the best work I've ever produced.

That sounds encouraging,

but is it the most expensive work you've ever produced?

I was keen for some sympathetic restoration,

but I think Jay might have had other ideas.

So I'm really excited to see what he's done with them,

and to find out what the budget is.

When Sarah saved them, they were really showing their age.

But now Jay has...

Well, done what Jay does best.

The simple restoration has turned into an explosion

of elegant colour and design.

Jay upholstered four with the lovely butterfly fabric,

and the two bigger ones have now got a cosy tartan look.

All six have been expertly restored,

but with that modern Jay Blades attitude.

-I can't wait to see what you've been up to!

-Yeah, come and have a look.

Oh, my word!

-Don't they look different?

-They do.

-How you doing?

-I'm very good.

So talk me through the carvers, in different materials.

The carvers are in different material,

cos we've got an orange...

an orange that matches up to the butterflies.

OK, yeah, yeah, I can see that.

Yeah, I didn't use the same material,

cos I thought it would have been a little bit overkill,

and it isn't my kind of style, actually,

to do everything all the same.

I always have to have a little bit of a twist.

And the twist is the carvers.

They have a lovely feeling to them. They're really well done.

So talk me through it. A bit of velvet on the back?

-Velvet on the back to marry them all up.

-Yeah?

So they've all got that. The only problem that I had was...

-I don't know if you remember the piping that we had on there...

-Yeah?

..which was in leather...

Unfortunately, Jay wasn't able to use

the hand-stitched original piping that he loved so much.

When it got down to brass tacks,

the brass and the tacks were too old to re-use.

So did you try and reattach them?

Yeah, about 50 times.

THEY LAUGH

Even without the piping,

the chairs certainly get Sarah's mark of approval.

Now, how about that budget?

What they've come out is about £130, £135 each chair.

135? So, at that kind of price, I'm going to need to place them

somewhere where they get the right exposure.

Well, funny you should say that.

Even though they're individual, and they've cost a bit,

we found a buyer and we're definitely going to be in profit.

And she wants to buy all of them -

she doesn't just want to buy one or two. She wants to buy all of them.

-I can't believe it. So you do the work and you sell them?

-Yes!

Crikey! What a service!

Jay's friend and sometime client snapped up the chairs

before Sarah even had a chance to see them.

Thank you so much for taking them on and, yeah, and selling them as well.

-No problem.

-Massive achievement!

-All right.

-Thanks a lot!

You take care now.

Ah, Jay - what a lege. How are you feeling after that?

To tell you the truth, I'm really chuffed with the chairs.

Chuffed with the chairs, and sold the chairs.

So I'm a happy bumblebee right about now.

Are bees particularly happy?

Oh, now that is the best boot-full I've seen all day.

Sarah was lucky enough to spot Carl and his mum and dad's old chairs.

I think they've had them about 25 years.

Sarah couldn't contain her excitement.

Oh, my word! It's my lucky, lucky day.

And Carl was just happy to get rid of them.

I'm quite looking forward to seeing what happens.

Bloomin' Jay Blades is what happened!

Not only did he give them a fancy makeover, but he sold them too.

Sarah's travelled to Surrey to meet up with Carl once more,

but how much profit can she handover?

-Hi, Carl.

-Hiya.

-How you doing?

-Nice to see you. Yeah, good, thank you.

Nice to see you too. So is this where those chairs came from?

-It is, yeah, yeah.

-You've had them and grown with them, haven't you?

I have, yeah. My mum and dad had them

sort of a year before I was born, so...

-OK, so they've got some...

-Yeah, my whole life, yeah.

-They've got some age to them, then?

-They have, yeah.

I don't know if you thought what we might do with them

-after we took them away?

-Well, I thought you...

I don't know, really, maybe just recovered them or something.

But I don't know.

Well, we did a lot of research on your chairs, actually.

-We couldn't find an establish maker who made them.

-Right.

So they went to Northampton, to a guy called Jay Blades.

-I've got some pictures, to show you what he did to them.

-Excellent.

-So they now look...

-Wow, yeah.

-Different!

-Different.

-Yeah, I mean...

Definitely changed them up a bit but, yeah, they look great, I think.

Somebody completely fell in love with them, and they bought them.

-Oh, OK.

-So there's profit to be shared.

-Oh, OK.

-In fact, I've got just a little bit here for you.

-Great.

-I have got £240 profit.

-Whoa. That's amazing, yeah.

For something that we were going to throw away. That's great.

What are you going to do with that?

Well, I think it will go back to my mum,

cos she's looking for some replacement chairs now.

So, yeah, probably go towards them. Great.

-Really appreciate you dropping them off.

-No problem.

-And it was great to catch up.

-Cheers. Thanks, bye.

-OK, bye-bye.

Jay pulled it out of the bag.

Having cost £810 to do them up,

he then sold them for a cracking £1,050,

giving Carl and his mum £240 to invest

in a new set of chairs to replace those old ones.

With a profit already under her belt,

Sarah's going back on the prowl to find another hidden gem.

Come on, then.

She does so with some style and grace.

And if it's style she's after,

perhaps Robert's old sewing machine could add a bit of flair.

Is that going back into the car or into the skip?

Was hoping somebody would be able to re-use it.

It's a really sweet little one, isn't it?

-Do you ever remember it being used?

-I do.

My mum regularly made clothes for us. Ugh...

Really? I bet they went down well at school, didn't they?

No, I didn't dare wear them to school.

Luckily, I had a uniform that you had to buy from a shop in Guildford.

-No.

-Have you got the key?

Er...

Not with me. It's probably at home somewhere.

-I'd forgotten all about the key.

-Where is it?

-This end here.

OK, they actually all open with the same thing.

It's very simple, it's just a flat key.

A small screwdriver will open it.

-I'd like to have a look inside.

-Of course.

Because there are Singers and then there are Singers.

Some of them are really collectable, some of them are just decorative,

but some of them are just hundreds of pounds worth of Singer.

But you need a key! You need a key!

Do you want me to have a quick look in my store?

Yes, if you got a key or a screwdriver, that would be great.

Do you have a second? I'll be back in a mo.

Where is Sarah going to find a screwdriver at the dump?

Ah, perhaps in the tool box graveyard

you'll find in many recycling centres.

I'm just wondering if there's a little screwdriver

or anything we can use.

You know how to pick a lock too, Sarah? Very talented.

-That might.

-Yeah, give that a go. Yeah.

Harder than it looks, eh?

Right for tight, loose for left.

Oh, I really want to see in here now.

Oh, good. Now it's stuck.

Would you mind if I took it away as the mystery machine?

If it is in usable condition or valuable, or I can sell it for you,

can I get back in touch and show you what we've done with it?

Yeah, that would be super. Yeah, thank you very much.

Thank you ever so much. Really nice to have met you here.

Ooh, the mystery machine!

Sarah's taking a gamble on there being something usable under there.

From what you can remember, Robert,

do you think Sarah will be able to make anything from it?

I don't want say a doorstop,

cos that just wouldn't be appropriate!

Um...

Maybe a lampstand?

Maybe a beautiful lampstand. That would be nice.

It really is quite exciting, what might be under there.

I just need to find a key so I can find out.

Well, I know a couple of boys with the key, and the secret for success.

This is Josh and Oli -

best mates who just love to create.

The pair thrive on taking disused materials

and turning them into unique, handmade furnishings

with flair and imagination.

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 like a really nice combination,

and I think we've got some pretty crazy ideas,

and think quite out of the box.

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

Well, you have to think outside the box for this sewing machine,

or whatever's IN that box.

Well, I've brought the vintage sewing machine to Josh and Oli

to see if they can open it up

and then transform it into something amazing.

But, as I haven't actually seen inside it,

I'm just hoping I'm not about to stitch them up.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-How are you?

-OK.

-Oh, I've got something for you.

-Right.

Actually, I need a hand with it.

This came to the recycling centre, and it doesn't have its key with it.

-Right.

-So I have never seen inside it.

-Oh, OK.

-And I'm hoping it's just...

-Maybe it's not a sewing machine?

Could be anything in there. So, first things first...

So the first thing is to try and see if you can open it.

Normally, they just have a flat key that goes in here.

-Is it an actual key?

-So a bit of breaking in?

-Yeah.

So it's kind of... I don't know if you've got anything...

Really, guys, it's just going to be a sewing machine.

But if it's a collectable one,

some rare models can sell for several hundred pounds,

believe it or not.

Or it could be just one of the newer electric ones.

Oh, it's electric!

Ah, I shouldn't have got my hopes up.

I mean, there are hundreds of these going into the tips every day.

Unwanted Singer sewing machines

have become very popular with the upcycling crowd...

Little light in there.

..making everything from lighting to desk fans.

Can the boys come up with something original?

Can the boys come up with something?

Anything?

HE IMITATES A SEWING MACHINE

Yes, it's a sewing machine, Oli.

It would almost be cool to take the whole thing

into the individual components and then, like...

We could see what we could do with them.

..lay them out as like a blueprint, almost.

What can you put it back into that's completely different

and that moves in a funny way or something.

The only thing I would say,

it is really difficult to sell non-functioning things.

One other option is to go down the route of using the box.

That might be a way we could make something

that would actually be useful and would sell.

So if I left you with a budget of sort of 250, 300 quid...

-take it apart, see what happens.

-We'll see what happens, yeah!

-And come back in surprise me!

-Yeah.

-OK, cool.

-All right.

-Brilliant. Thanks ever so much.

-Cheers.

So, boys, you've got carte blanche to do whatever you want.

Hey! Not that!

Well, they've sewn a few ideas about what they might come up with,

but that sewing machine is a real challenge.

So it's going to be a total surprise to see what they make out of it.

They've set a budget of £250 to £300.

It's a fair chunk of money, so Sarah's taking a gamble

on the boys coming up with something that will be saleable.

Or coming up with anything at all.

Back in East London, Ray has finished his makeover

of the hotly-anticipated armchair.

He is waiting for Sarah...

anxiously.

-I'm proper nervous.

-HE LAUGHS

Just hoping she really likes it, yeah.

Oh, no. What have I done?!

You've done up an armchair, Ray. Don't worry.

Although Sarah is also on tenterhooks.

I've come to see Ray and to find out

how the armchair has turned out, that I left him.

And this is one of the projects that has really been on my mind,

because Ray is inventing a whole new fabric to go on the chair,

and doing all the upholstery.

So this is just one of those things that could go either way.

Either way, the transformation is now complete.

When Sarah dropped off the chair,

it was solid but badly needed bringing up-to-date.

But now Ray has worked his magic. It's utterly transformed.

Ray's hand-illustrated menagerie of monkeys

are rendered on a luxurious moleskin velvet,

which he's positioned to show off the stylish simians

to their best effect.

The chair has been entirely reupholstered

with quality finishings,

and the original wood has been stained in a cool, contrasting grey.

Ray took a big creative risk

on designing his own unique monkey fabric,

and it's paid off splendidly.

Well done, Ray.

But what will Sarah make of it?

-Hiya.

-Hi. Ohh...

-You're not nervous, are you?

-Just a little bit, yeah.

-Let me see.

-I'll pull it off.

One, two, three.

# Ta-da! #

I absolutely adore it.

-You've done so well there. It's so cool!

-Thank you.

She likes it!

The woman from Del Monte says yes!

She does indeed.

-Which is your favourite monkey?

-I do like the black howler.

-Yeah?

And I love the golden tamarin. Oh, come round here.

-I want to take you round the back.

-I'm going on tour!

-Yeah.

-So around the back...

-So who's he, a howler?

Yeah, it's a black howler. And that's a red howler.

That chair is a triumph.

What's so odd is I can't even relate to the chair

-that I brought to you.

-No.

-Because of what you've done to it.

It's like you're showing me something I've never seen before.

With the very highest praise,

Sarah's delighted with Ray's monkey chair.

It's, like, meant so much to me to try to do this.

So thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this. Honestly.

Yeah, thanks. I'm properly made up, I really am.

It's smiles all round for the painstakingly-finished chair.

On that note, Sarah's got a question.

But she doesn't want to PRY-MATE.

You see?

Has it gone over budget?

I'm feeling now that my original...

..costs were probably a little bit low.

It took longer than I thought,

so therefore, labour-wise, it would have been a bit more expensive.

The amount of work that's gone into the chair

has pushed Ray's labour costs up,

meaning he's gone around £150 over budget,

at a total cost of around £950.

However, Sarah's still confident.

I will try so hard to sell this at very high-end,

so we turn a really good profit over on this.

If you would, that would mean a lot.

Great job, lovely finish,

and I think you should be very proud of that.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

She likes it.

You know, these monkeys - you're so tricky, I'm telling you.

MONKEYS CALL AND WHOOP

Those tricky monkeys are a triumph.

Ray took a chance on a creative idea that really paid off,

but it came at a high cost to Sarah's budget.

Back in Walsall recycling centre,

Sarah found Alan about to off-load two armchairs.

A pair of chairs. How exciting!

Alan was happy for Sarah to nab them.

In a way, I'm glad they're going to be reused,

cos they just seem too good to throw out.

So Sarah spirited them straight to Ray in East London...

Lovely.

..who immediately took a shine to one chair in particular.

Now Sarah's on her way back to Walsall

to update Alan on what became of his armchair.

-Hello.

-Hi there, Alan. How are you doing?

-I'm very well, thank you.

-You?

-Yeah. Very nice to see you again.

-I said I'd be in touch with news about your chairs.

-Yes.

I took it to an upholsterer called Ray Clarke.

So I've got some pictures of what he did to it.

Gosh! Wow.

-Is that recognisable?

-That's tremendous, isn't it?

It has been transformed.

-He has redesigned it.

-Yeah.

He has given it a whole new lease of life.

These are the pictures of it in his studio.

I've never seen anything like that before. That's unbelievable.

It's unbelievable. Just think what...

What are we all throwing away, really?

-Yes, well...

-It's got that potential.

It has got huge potential and it is out there now waiting to be sold...

-Yeah.

-..and I've got high hopes that it's going to generate

-some profit for you and I'll keep in touch...

-Wonderful.

..and be knocking on your door with some money in the future.

-Thank you ever so much.

-My pleasure, pleasure.

Well, I think that Alan was really impressed

with all Ray's hard work because that chair really is a unique piece

and I'm sure it's going to sell well

and I'm going to be sending cash back to Alan very soon.

Ray's materials and painstaking labour on the chair

came in at just under £1,000.

This niche item has yet to sell, so it's currently a potential loss

of that £950.

Sarah's back at the tip, on the hunt for one last item

to work on herself.

Nothing to see here.

Perhaps Michael can offer up something of interest.

-Is it dead? Is not working any more?

-No, it works perfectly well.

It works perfectly well.

-The motor's very, very good...

-Right.

It's just that the blades are blocked.

Somebody who knows anything about it could do it.

It seems in quite a good condition.

I've never thought about taking a lawnmower

-away from the dump before.

-You're very welcome to it.

-How old is it?

-I don't really know. I would think it's 10-12 years old.

-OK, so it's had a good use.

-It gets serviced every year.

-Yeah.

-So it's good.

If it still works, there's potential I may be able to

make something out of it so I'd love to have a go

at using the parts or doing something with it.

-You're very welcome.

-Thank you so much for letting me take that away.

-OK.

-Does it go backwards?

This is not looking promising.

-Don't have it on that, that'll stop it.

-OK.

I've got a new lawnmower but I haven't got enough room in my

garage for both of them.

The old one works perfectly well apart from the gears have locked.

Sarah does look confident that she can mow up some moolah,

but what does Michael think she can do with it?

I'm sort of quite fascinated myself.

Somebody with a little bit of mechanical knowledge

or imagination could do something with it.

I'm sure the motor can drive anything, really.

You probably think I'm gaga taking this old garden mower but it's

been really well looked after and the engine still works.

That may be so, Sarah, but I still can't see

what you're going to do with that, other than cut some grass.

At home in Sussex, Sarah has wasted no time in having the lawnmower

stripped down to its many component parts.

Well, who knew if you took a lawnmower apart you would get

so many pieces and there are some fantastic bits here.

There's lots of lovely nuts and bolts

I think would make some lovely jewellery

but the standout feature I think has to be this fantastic cutter blade.

It's such a sculptural thing and just looking at it

makes me think, I want to make something out of that

and I think lighting is the best thing.

Lighting is really commercial, very saleable

and actually quite a simple make

if you've got something as lovely and strong as this.

So with the help of this off-the-peg lighting set,

I'm going to make a lamp with this bit as the base.

But before I can start, I've got to get the hacksaw out

to get this out of that.

Of course, the simple way to remove

the blade from its casing would be to just undo the bolts.

Money for nothing, they say.

It's hard work making money for nothing.

Before lawnmowers were invented, grass was cut using scythes.

It wasn't until 1830 that an English engineer,

Edward Budding, patented the first lawnmower.

I'm pretty sure he didn't envisage

his invention being used for lighting.

That was a lot of hard work but that is every part as sculptural

as I'd hoped, and this bit, another part of the lawnmower...

(I don't know what.)

..is going to make the best base for it.

I reckon put it that way up.

It looks like a light already, doesn't it?

I've just got to clean it up and see if I can get the wire going

through the holes that happen to be there already,

and that's going to look amazing.

Sarah gives the blades a thorough clean with warm, soapy water

to remove old encrusted grass and mud.

Next, in order to remove any sharp edges and make the blades safe,

Sarah uses a coarse sandpaper and a whole load of elbow grease.

Finally, the little bits and bobs are given a thorough wash.

I'm just cleaning up these two pieces because these are

going to help me connect this to that.

I love the way that design evolves when you're reusing pieces like this

because that is a really chunky, lovely bit

and it adds so much by putting it on there, and you probably wouldn't

design that unless you'd just found it.

Well, unless, of course, you're Edward Budding,

inventor of the lawnmower, then you probably did design it.

OK, so onto the final stage, which is wiring up the lamp

and I've got this fantastic lighting component.

And loads of lighting shops have these now, so you can choose

the bulb holder and the flex that you have, either the colour

or if it's twisted like this one.

It makes a really quick and easy way of making a light.

So I've just got to get this wired up

and I think it's going to look pretty cool.

So I think we go from the top.

Sarah's costs for the lawnmower lighting are £60,

which includes the cost of the flex, light fitting, bulb

and also the services of a qualified electrician

to make sure everything's safe.

But will she really be able to create a desirable interior piece

from a bit of old lawnmower?

Elsewhere in Sussex, have Josh and Oli come up with

a plan for the old sewing machine?

The hope is that once it's stripped down to its component parts,

inspiration will strike.

-Somewhere within this is...

-Some gold.

-Yeah.

Gold paint, maybe.

As a backup plan, the boys have still got the wooden box

the sewing machine came in.

It might be a safer bet than what they're doing just...

Oh, no, here we go.

It looks like Oli's come up with something.

Oh, he's made himself a little friend.

-Josh, I made a robot.

-Oh, sweet.

Yeah, that'll do. Get Sarah back now.

Yeah, get Sarah back in and let her see her £300 robot.

Oh, Josh! Oli spent ages on that.

Sorry, Oli.

This is not confidence inspiring, boys.

Perhaps a fresh look at things might help

and the very next day...

After a lot of head scratching we've decided to use the wooden box

to make a mobile barbershop.

So this will be for a barber who wants to go from door to door

and they can keep all of their products and scissors in here.

A barber's kit? Excellent.

Wait, but what's this?

I thought it would be a real shame just to let all of these components

go to waste so I'm trying to figure out some kind of, like,

little mechanical desk toy.

At first thought a little turtle comes to mind because of this guy.

I'm a little bit lost at the moment.

I don't quite know if it's possible and how I'm going to do it.

Yep, you heard it right,

Josh is going to make a mechanical reptile desk toy.

With so much time used up already, it'll be a race to the finish

between the tortoise and the...

hair.

I'm going to kind of make a little shell for the turtle

and I want this big cog to sit on top.

When you turn this cog, it's going to power this here

and so the turtle's head is going to move in and out.

-Who wouldn't be excited about this?

-Sarah.

Oli's first job with the barber's kit is to remove the existing

varnish with an electric sander ready for a brand-new finish.

A simple, quick job.

Can you just come over here and hold these little bits here?

Josh has a few issues with his turtle thing.

It keeps falling off.

You just need to tweak it a little bit.

Oh, just get back to work, Oli, Josh could be here all day.

At home, Sarah's busy putting the final touches

to the mower transformation.

Great, that's all the dirty work done.

Time for the last adjustments.

That's straight.

Time to get this illuminated.

When Sarah took possession of the mower at the tip,

its days of trimming lawns were over.

Sarah's used the dismantled mower's sculpted blades to create

a unique table lamp.

The surfaces have been cleaned and waxed and it's finished off

with a contemporary colour-matched flex and a classic style bulb.

The finally finished article is certainly something to behold.

Well, I hope that looks like it's gone

from cutting grass to cutting edge.

I'm going to get some pictures taken of it,

share it around and see if I can turn a profit on it.

Once those pictures hit the net, I'm sure there'll be a stampede

of enthusiastic gardeners looking to illuminate

a dark corner of a room.

When Sarah spotted Michael at the tip,

initially she lacked motivation...

I've never thought about taking a lawnmower away from the dump before.

..but it wasn't all bad news about the mower.

The old one worked perfectly well apart from the gears have locked.

So what do you do with a mower with seized gears?

That's right, strip it down and turn it into a lamp.

The lamp was snapped up by an interior design shop,

Sara Hughes in Marlow - run, funnily enough, by Sara.

It's got memories of old-fashioned lawnmowers, which I rather like.

It's the sort of thing your grandfather used and you imagine

them pushing them along.

Our Sarah has travelled to Sale, near Altrincham,

to show Michael what happened to the lawnmower.

-Hi, there. Hello, Michael.

-Hi, how are you?

-I'm very well.

-How are you?

-Fine, thank you.

I said at the tip that I wanted to keep in touch, so here I am.

Here we are.

I took away your old lawnmower but your lawnmower was still

-slightly working when I took it away from you.

-It was.

-It still worked but it was jammed, wasn't it?

-Yeah, it was.

I have made something out of it but have you thought what that might be?

I have no idea what...

Apart from a lawnmower again, I couldn't think what you...

Imagine what you might have made of it.

It was a bit of a puzzle and I did have quite a long think about it but

in the end I made a light out of it

and I've got some pictures here to show you.

Go on, then. I'll put my glasses on so I can see it clearly.

Your old lawnmower, I used a little bit of it

and it turned out like this.

Wow! How on earth did you do that?

Well, actually it was really easy

because your lawnmower blade had all right holes in it.

-Oh, that's the blades, yes.

-Yeah.

Had all the right holes in it and all the right pieces in just

the position to make it into a lamp.

-I was...

-That's your interior design expertise, isn't it?

Well, it did look quite striking.

Your lawnmower blade has gone on to be bought by a shop

down in Marlow.

They have all sorts of very smart things in their shop

and now they've got your lawnmower light and I've got a little bit of

money to share with you. I've got a £40 profit to give to you...

-Good grief!

-..for the old lamp made out of your blade.

That's incredible. That is absolutely incredible.

What might you do with that?

I know what I'm going to do with it because in the '90s I was

a bank manager, and I don't tell people that very often because...

But we were better then, I think.

I opened a little bank in the Royal School for the Deaf

where they had multiple handicaps and we had dinners for them

and raised money and we opened this little bank

and they all came and banked, so I'll give it to them.

Oh, well, that is a fantastic place for it to go.

-Really good to catch up.

-That is wonderful.

-Wonderful, thank you.

-Absolute pleasure.

-Thank you.

Thank you so much.

A total of £60 was spent creating classic lighting

from the lawnmower.

Sarah managed to sell the lamp for £100,

which left her with a profit of £40 to give to Michael.

Well, I think Michael approved of my cutting edge design

and the money is going to a really good place, too.

It's the moment of truth for our sewing machine duo.

When we left them, Oli was getting on well with his box

of barber's bits and Josh was still tinkering with his toy turtle.

It's time for Sarah to find out just what they've been up to.

I see vintage sewing machines at the tip all day long,

I'm just hoping that Josh and Oli have done something inspirational

with this one to give us all a few more ideas

about what to do with them.

Well, it took them long enough

but where once there was a sewing machine...

..now it's a sleek and cool-looking mobile barber's shop.

The functional backboard is equipped to carry

all your barbering essentials.

Included is a cut-throat razer made from

a decorative plate from the sewing machine

and a handmade shaving brush.

To top it all off, the box has a chalk board paint finish.

But that's not all, folks...

Josh made this turtle.

-Hi, guys.

-Hey, Sarah.

-How are you doing?

-Yeah, good thanks.

-All right.

-How are you?

-Yeah, really well.

What have you been up to?

This is what we've made with the sewing machine you gave us.

Oh, no way!

It looks exciting but what's inside it?!

Remember it didn't have a key so we made this key

so you can unlock it.

It's a mobile barber's kit.

It's really beautiful. It's so clever.

You've got a little dish for your shaving cream and shaving brush

and we even made a razor.

I know what you've...

-That's from the front of the sewing machine.

-Yeah.

Fantastic, that is really clever. Lovely.

What did you do with all the rest of it?

-Well, yeah, I have got a little extra surprise for you.

-Have you?

-So...

-So while I was doing this...

-Yeah?

Josh had his own little project.

This is a little desk turtle.

I've always wanted a desk turtle!

How come I've never had a desk turtle?

That is so funny. That is just hilarious.

So all of the components actually came from the machine.

-The drive belt is off the original motor.

-Lovely.

-And just, yeah, I used all the components that I could.

-Fantastic.

I really like what you've done there.

Thank you for making something commercial out of the other bit...

What are you saying?! What, the turtle's not commercial?

OK, so 300 quid - are we splitting that between that

or have we gone slightly over budget?

I think... We tried to keep to budget.

-I think we probably put more time in it than...

-Yeah.

-..what we were going to but we'll call it 300.

-Really?

-Yeah.

OK, well, I think the world's first fully operational desk turtle

and mobile barber shop is a triumph.

-Thank you ever so much.

-Cool, you're welcome.

Well, I have learnt to expect the unexpected every time I come here.

A fantastic transformation of the old sewing machine

and I think there's money to be made even from that desktop turtle.

Is that going back in the car or into the skip?

When Sarah enquired about Robert's sewing machine at the dump,

it brought back painful memories for him.

My mum regularly made clothes for us.

-HE SIGHS

-Really...?

Despite not being able to see inside, Sarah wanted it.

Would you mind if I took it away as the mystery machine?

And Robert hazarded a guess about what it might become.

Maybe a lamp stand, maybe beautiful lamp stand.

Well, I bet even 100 monkeys with 100 typewriters wouldn't

have come up with what Josh made.

But, the barber's box proved to be a hit and was bought by Nick,

a regular customer of Sarah's who runs

an online vintage and retro shop.

Sarah's travelled to Hascombe in Surrey to hand over the

profits from the barber's box to Robert and she's even got

a certain little something for him in that bag.

-Hi, Robert.

-Hello. Hi, Sarah. How are you?

-I'm very well.

-How are you? Oh, hello. Who are you?

-I'm Skye.

-Hi, Skye.

-Hello.

-I'm Mia.

-Mia. Oh, hi, there, Mia.

When I first met you at the recycling centre,

-we couldn't open your sewing machine.

-No.

It's odd that I've actually found the key since but I wasn't sure if

you were coming back so I threw it out

probably, what a month ago, Skye, was it?

Well, that didn't matter because I've actually taken

the sewing machine to somebody who knew how to get into it.

Have you thought about something that might have been done with it?

I thought rather uninspiringly that you might make it into a lamp.

My wife thought you might use it as a stand for a coffee table.

So we're interested or intrigued to see

what it might have turned out like.

I've got some pictures to show you of what they did

with your sewing machine.

-So here is a mobile barber shop.

-Wow!

I love that colour, don't you?

-So it's proved really popular and it's sold.

-Really?

-Yes.

-How fantastic.

-Yeah, so I have actually got £25 here...

-Ahh!

-..to give to you for your old sewing machine.

Thank you so much. Great.

This money is going to go to a lovely local charity.

So thank you.

Oh, it's an absolute pleasure.

That sounds like a great place for that to go.

Before I go, I've got a little something here

as a memento for you.

Here is the world's first sewing machine desk turtle paperweight.

-Wow! Isn't that cool?! Do you want to have a turn?

-It's really cool.

They saved some of the bits of it.

They wanted to make something mechanical out of it.

I remember this wheel, my mum sitting at the table

-turning that wheel around.

-Wow, so cool!

That's really sweet, isn't it?

It's a memento from your sewing machine and just to say thank you

-so much for letting us take it away.

-Thank you so much.

-My pleasure.

-Lovely to have caught up with you.

-And you too, thanks.

Nice to meet you, girls.

Josh and Oli's labour and materials came in at £300.

With the barber's box selling for an impressive £325,

£25 can be shared with Robert.

Well, that really wasn't about the money, was it?

I think Robert liked what we did with his sewing machine and

I think he's going to cherish that turtle. Lovely.

Sarah managed to give four items destined for the dump

a whole new lease of life.

The set of chairs were reinvented by Jay.

Ray's huge creative risk was a masterpiece.

Josh and Oli reimagined the old sewing machine.

And Sarah created a lamp from a mower.

Whilst it's nice to turn a profit it's not all about the money.

I mean, I literally dumped rubbish onto the doorsteps of our artisans

and they picked up the challenge and transformed it into fantastic items.

Now, that is an achievement.