Episode 7 Money for Nothing

Oh, just before you throw those away...

How do you make money for nothing?

-Can I have it?

-You can have it, yeah.

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

we throw out every year.

Now, this is one seriously unusual tip find.

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

before they hit the skip.

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

and I've turned my passion into a moneymaking business.

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

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

These were going to be thrown away? Seriously?

I love it, love it, love it.

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

It looks brand-new.

..valuable...

You are joking.

..and hopefully saleable items.

That is a triumph!

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.

That is amazing!

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

searching for four items that she can save, transform and trade

for cash.

Wonky sideboards, stopped clocks, occasional tables, legless chairs -

they can all be made marvellous and all make money.

All I've got to do is find them.

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

so please don't go raking your local rubbish tip.

Leave that to the experts.

I can tell the quality of your rubbish.

You've got superb quality rubbish.

Could make a hat.

Oh, yes, there's all manner of things at the tip today

and it's not long before Sarah spots

Jason with a boot-full of potential profit.

You've got some nice pieces of wood...

and bits, what...? Is it a new kitchen?

This is an old... Part of the sink that we took out -

-we put a new sink in.

-I like that.

I've just had no use for it,

so I'd be really happy if somebody used it.

-Let's have a look.

-OK.

Sarah's eye has been caught by a fresh piece of untreated oak

that's been left over while making new kitchen cabinets.

That, I think...

I don't want that, but that looks lovely.

-It's a coffee table in the waiting, isn't it?

-Could be.

Thank you very much for letting me have this bit.

-I'm loving the fact that it feels so chunky.

-Yeah.

And I've got lots of people who really make lovely things

out of natural wood and they'd be really pleased to see this.

Yeah, fantastic.

So, hopefully... I'll come back and show you what I've done

and maybe even turn up with some profit.

-Yeah.

-Thank you ever so much.

Come on, then, Jason,

what do you think will become of that large chunk of oak?

I looked at that and I thought I could possibly make

a coffee table out of it, but my hands are hurting

after all of this work so I just ran out of steam on it,

so it's really great that somebody else could do something with it.

So this lovely chunk of oak has got everything

about it that it needs to be recycled.

It's solid, it's in one piece, it's new, it's untreated.

So, given all its great qualities,

I know exactly where this is going

and I think there's some potential profit in this,

because it's a big, solid piece of English oak.

It is indeed.

Sarah knows where she's taking that,

but it's not perhaps where you'd think.

Artist blacksmith Bex Simon is an expert in manipulating metal

into high-end furniture and bespoke metalwork commissions.

Together with husband Dave, this formidable team has the skill

and imagination to create something special from...any old iron.

I think I find inspiration in pretty much anything and everything.

And then the passion is to create and build and design,

which I just love. It's incredibly satisfying,

it's really nice.

The love of bending and shaping metal is understandable,

but what exactly will a blacksmith do with a huge chunk of wood?

-How you doing?

-How are you doing?

-Look what I've got!

-It's wood!

You've got wood! Are you all right?

-I'm really well, how you doing?

-Put it down here.

-It's quite heavy.

-It's a lovely piece of wood.

Yeah, I think it's that way up.

I thought, because it's so beautiful,

I love the kind of matt quality of the wood...

-Yeah.

-I was just thinking, with some of your beautiful shaped legs on it,

I was wondering about having something quite industrial-looking,

like nuts and bolts or something maybe, like, coming through it.

So, say if it's round, you could have, like,

just three and it's sort of self-balanced,

so they are piercing the top.

Piercing sounds great.

It's either kind of a javelin shape,

so they're getting sort of thinner...

Maybe you could do that. If it's piercing it,

maybe it gets slightly thinner at the bottom and then a big

chunky, bolt-y thing at the top.

Yeah, because you have a flat bit with the bit coming through

and it's sort of balancing on three legs.

Industrial-looking legs!

I've got a pair of them myself.

But this table will need three,

so how much will it cost for each leg?

Um, say 60,

and then we can sort of fiddle about and, you know,

make something really nice and it will look like

a really good interiors piece, you know?

That's £180 in total for the three legs.

Now, what's the plan for the wood?

I'm wondering, are you OK to cut wood

or do you want me to get this delivered to you in a certain shape?

-What would be easier?

-If we worked out between us what shape

and then, yeah, that would be good.

I could make a template, so that would be fine.

I love your enthusiasm.

I love yours!

Let's make a plan for the shape, then, and I reckon

we've a fairly simple solution to that.

-Brilliant, well done.

-Yep. No, marvellous.

Once the shape is agreed,

Sarah's going to organise getting the wood cut

while Bex takes care of the javelin-shaped legs.

Brilliant. You have that, that and that, and I'll take the wood.

OK. Keep in touch, yeah?

See you later. Bye.

I think it's going to turn out a really, really nice,

quite classic little piece. So, looking forward to making that...

if we get the fire started.

Bex has got her work cut out with the legs

and I've got my wood to cut out.

I think this table is going to be sweet,

saleable, and I think we'll make a profit.

With £180 already dedicated to the legs

and the cost of preparing the wood still unknown,

can this adventurous table live up to its price tag?

With another three items still to find,

Sarah has a unique strategy at the tip.

BELL RINGS

Service? Any rubbish?

Remember, if it goes in there,

it ain't coming out.

Undeterred, Sarah's spotted something interesting

in Rob's hatchback.

Prepare yourself, Rob, here she comes.

What have you got in the back, there?

-Hello.

-Hello, there.

-Hiya.

-What are they?

-Erm...

Some old detail from a property we owned

before the one we're currently in.

-OK.

-Um... Lovely Victorian place, and we had to take a chimney out,

-and this was the detail above the cupboard.

-OK, so it was sort of...

-May I have a look at them?

-Yeah.

-So, tell me... Was it an arch, or...?

-This way.

-That way?

-Yeah. This was an arch below a lower cupboard with a shelf in this gap.

Aren't they cool?

Sarah's uncovered a wooden architrave.

This architectural piece dates from the 19th century.

Fantastic.

Would it be possible to get them all out and just have

-a quick look at them?

-Yeah.

-So, what do we think? Victorian detail?

Yeah, I think the house was mid-1890s, or so.

They definitely shouldn't go in the wood skip.

There's something to be done with these, I'm sure,

and I'd love to take them away and

have a think about something for them. Would that be OK?

Please do, yeah. I'd love to see them be made a use of.

Those are fantastic.

-Thanks ever so much!

-Pleasure.

Don't run off, Sarah!

The carved detailing in these pieces is well worth preserving,

and Sarah can see a pleasurable amount of profit

in those Victorian off-cuts.

What about Rob?

It will be a lovely piece of timber if someone takes

the time to strip it.

It'd be nice if someone could get creative and make

a nice piece that someone else can benefit from.

Look at those.

They are so beautiful.

Things like these just don't grow on trees, especially at tips.

Architectural detailing like that has a value in its own right.

Sarah's got just the man in mind to help her maximise

the potential value in this special find.

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.

I've always been interested in drawing.

I've always drawn things, from a very young age.

I used to watch wildlife programmes

and come away and draw the animals.

I guess I always wanted to be able to apply those drawings to something,

so the routes were...graphic design or textiles,

and it's actually meant that I've been able to take

my imagery and put it on all sorts of different things,

and it's been really good fun doing that.

How is Dan going to transfer his skills

onto those old Victorian architraves?

-Oh, they look interesting.

-I'm really excited about these.

-Yeah.

I think they've got heaps of potential. Look at them.

Right, OK. Yeah, that's nice.

Pretty strong Victorian styling on them, isn't there?

Yeah.

They're quite nice things as they are.

Sarah's initial idea was to transform the architectural

oddments into some kind of a table.

But design-brain Daniel might have other ideas.

Whatever it is we do, you kind of want to see all of them.

You don't want to hide away any of the detail

and I think maybe if there's a tabletop on top,

they're kind of underneath...

So I think...they can go together in some way, can't they?

Just try this... I think...

How big is the... Oh, right, OK, it's really quite...substantial

if we put them all together...

I know what you're going to say.

Wow, OK...

It's a corner bath, isn't it?

Jacuzzi!

No, it's not.

-It's a massive mirror.

-It's a massive mirror, yeah,

-it's a real statement piece.

-The killer idea -

that's genius, it's... I'm...yeah, I'm blown away.

It's... I'm just thinking it's going to be a huge, huge piece and

it's going to...really increase the value.

Daniel has completely reimagined the cornices into a huge mirror frame.

He may also engrave the mirrored glass with

a pattern of his own design.

I have some...

Some beautiful birds that we can put swooping in

-and various foliage.

-I think that sounds beautiful

and I'm thinking I'm going to have to pay up to have something like

-that created.

-I think we're talking about £500-600...

And the main cost will be actually the glass, the mirror.

-And the engraving of a piece of that size.

-OK, well,

I think if it comes out anywhere close to how I'm imagining it,

it's going to be a very beautiful thing. I hope it goes well,

don't break any mirrors cos I want to be lucky on this one, all right?

-OK!

-Enjoy yourself!

-Cheers.

This is a huge mirror, it will be one of the biggest that we've done.

So it does have its challenges and making sure the whole thing

comes together without any hitches.

So, let's just hope Daniel can manage to keep his enormous

project in one piece... It will need to be something special to make

a profit on that £600 budget.

Back in Surrey, blacksmith Bex is getting started

on the spear-like legs and chunky bolt fittings

that will hold up the oak tabletop Sarah is having cut into shape.

It is basically making it so it has got this nice, slow,

you know, not to a point but...

..looks nice and slick rather than just a straight bar.

Before the legs can be tapered,

first they have to be cut.

Fancy a cup of tea?

Bex is using mild steel to form the legs.

It's a malleable alloy that can be shaped

when heated above 1,000 degrees Celsius.

It's more often used in a building context

and so will provide this coffee table with an industrial feel.

So I make the bolt, just use that material to make the bolt

so it's, like, quite slick and small,

or go nuts and do a big fat bolt.

But then, it's a coffee table - it might get in the way.

Ah, it's a tough decision to make.

Yeah, doing the smaller, neater... Using that material.

So, small and elegant is the way forward,

and she can check out her design against the tabletop,

as Sarah has now returned the chunk of oak all shaped and finished.

Oh, wow, it's like a giant kidney bean.

Oh, it's really nice. Look, with her dirty hands.

No, it's got a really nice shape.

It'll go well with the legs.

We haven't told her that we're going to countersink,

you know, the nuts and stuff, so, you know,

rather that it looks like they're plonked on,

they're going to be set in nicely with the little top,

so it's a really nice detail.

With the top ready to go,

Bex concentrates on putting the finishing touches

to the metal legs with a bit of help from Dave's, erm, pants?

Actually, there's a new pair that I've been planning to bring in.

It's when they start to look a bit like a skirt...

They were perfectly good underpants, them.

I don't know what she's doing with them in here.

Four or five years in them!

Very unflattering, dear.

Very unflattering.

Poor Dave. Now all that's left to do is drill and stain the wood,

fix it together and then show Sarah.

I can't wait to see this one.

I hope she likes my nuts.

SHE CHUCKLES

Anyway... So immature. Right.

Back in Walthamstow, Daniel and his assistant Laura are about to

get to grips with the bits of Victorian architrave.

What new skills am I going to have to learn today in order to

make this work?

He sounds a bit nervous.

Let's just hope he hasn't bitten off more than they can chew.

We've made a start on stripping them back,

and what the intention would be is to join them together

to make a huge frame for a mirror.

So we're just going to strip down these other two.

The heat is on for Daniel and Laura as they get down to stripping

the chipped layer of gloss paint from the wood beneath using heat guns.

Dan also removes any old nails in the architrave and the ornate ends,

which he hopes to include in the finished item.

-That wasn't too bad.

-Nice.

He has to be careful using a heat gun,

especially on soft pine like this.

Too much heat and your wood could burn and...

Well, I'll let Dan explain the other problem.

I was a bit over-zealous with the scraping

and scraped off a little bit of wood.

I have to take it easy from now.

Careful, Dan, you don't want to make any more holes.

He'll fill in any gaps in the wood later with

a colour-matching wood filler to help create a smooth finish.

Right, not far to go on this one.

With the wood stripped,

it's time for Daniel to start fitting those huge pieces together.

Now, the risk is,

with these arches,

is that they won't be completely identical.

So I might need to see how they marry up, basically,

once I've joined these two together,

and see if I need to make any

adjustments in order to make it fit all the way round.

Sounds simple enough, but Daniel's a print designer, not a carpenter.

This is all new territory.

I hope my measurements are accurate enough.

Me too, Dan.

He's carefully drilling holes into each arch end,

into which he places dells.

I'm just going to hammer them in with some glue on the end,

some wood glue on the end, and then bring those pieces together.

And they should...

marry up quite well.

If he's done his measuring right,

these will hopefully match up and secure with the corresponding

architrave corner, which in turn will create

a frame for the huge mirror he hopes to eventually fit.

OK, this is proving a little bit more tricky than I'd hoped.

As we can see, erm...

This is flat on the table, so it needs to be square,

and these are not marrying up square because they're not cut straight.

And that won't do for a perfectionist like our Daniel.

So I'm going to take these apart and I'm just going to sand them,

and I'm just going to get them both completely at right angles

so that they'll marry up.

To get the joint flush,

Daniel's going to use his workshop's industrial sanding disc.

It's a powerful tool,

but can it create the perfect fit he's looking for?

It's not bad, I think it's just about there.

I think I'm just going to have to go for it.

You certainly do.

That's still a long way from the perfect polished and expensive

mirror he's promised Sarah.

Sarah has now returned to the workshop of Bex and Dave to see

the fruits of their labour.

Did you spit on it?

I think she'll be pleased, don't you?

I think she'll like this one.

There's not much to not like about it.

It's been in our house for a little bit for the wood to dry

and it looked quite nice in there.

I've been really looking forward to seeing what Bex has managed to do

with that old piece of worktop

because although it was only quite a small item,

it's potentially a really big transformation.

When Sarah dropped off the chunk of untreated oak,

it was unremarkable and unwanted.

In collaboration with Sarah,

Bex and Dave have created an elegant kidney-shaped coffee table.

Hand-forged steel legs complete with chunky fittings

are countersunk into the tabletop,

which has been stained black to match the legs.

-Hello, hello, hello.

-Hello!

-Is that it?

-Might be.

-Let's have a look, then.

-Here you go.

Oh, my word. Are they metal?

-Yeah.

-How cool are they?

It looks really good, doesn't it?

Yeah, it's worked out nicely.

I thought it was going to be sort of less polished and a bit metally,

kind of, rougher, but it's really fine.

So tell me, was it a good thing to do?

-Was it a nice make?

-Yeah, definitely,

cos we got to do a bit of forging on it.

So we made the nuts and we taped the legs down to have that nice,

you know, clean shape going down.

These are great, aren't they?

You can't get those off the shelf.

They look amazing.

I think I cunningly chose a three-legged table

because we were paying by the leg, weren't we?

It was something like 60...

60 quid a leg.

-Anywhere near that?

-Yeah.

-It's about right.

By the time you've messed about with the wood,

got it all working and nice, it's about right.

It's very cool.

I'm glad you like it.

I think it's a charming thing made out of something that was, you know,

scrub-top utility piece of wood, so I'm really pleased with that.

-Thanks so much.

-Brilliant, thank you.

Always lovely to see you.

-How heavy is it?

-It's not too bad.

-Not too bad.

-You'll be OK.

-That's what they always say.

-Take care.

-See you later.

-Bye.

There's always the question of what other people

-will think of your work.

-Yeah.

No, it's really good and she was really pleased,

so that makes us really pleased.

-You're wearing my hat.

-Yeah, all right!

My hat now.

Those guys just pull it out of the bag every time.

Look at the finish on that.

(It's fantastic.)

When Sarah spotted Jason at the tip in Witley,

she immediately spotted potential.

You've got some nice pieces of wood and bits.

-Is it a new kitchen?

-This is an old part of the sink that we took out.

We put a new sink in.

Jason was quick to catch on with ideas of his own.

I looked at that and I thought I could possibly make a coffee table

out of it but my hands are hurting after all of this work so I just...

I just ran out of steam on it.

Fortunately for Sarah,

it was full steam ahead when the finished coffee table

was offered for sale, and it was soon snapped up

by a vintage and retro retail outlet in London.

Sarah has returned to Witley to show what Jason what became

of his oak cast-offs and possibly hand of some profit.

-Hi, Jason.

-Hi, how are you doing?

-Yeah, really well. How are you?

-Good, thank you.

-Nice to see you again.

-Yep.

I said at the tip that it would be great to catch up if I'd managed

to do anything with your chunk of oak so I'm here, I'm here.

We actually managed to use it.

-Do you want to see what we did?

-I'd love to, sounds great.

-So, that's how it turned out.

-That's unbelievable, isn't it?

That is great. I honestly just thought it would be

just a nice square oblong of...

That's what I was going to make.

But that, yeah, that looks fantastic.

The good news is it sold and it sold at a profit,

so I've got some money to hand over to you here.

I've got...

Wow, that's incredible. I wasn't expecting that at all.

£4 there and another 60 more to go with it.

That's unbelievable. I wasn't expecting that at all.

Thank you so much.

So, 64 quid.

Any ideas what you'd do with £64?

There's a lot of things I'd like to do with it

but my children might have a different idea

about what I can spend it on.

But, yeah, I'm sure we'll find something fun to do with this.

-Excellent.

-A day out, I should think, at least, yeah.

Thank you so much for all of your time and for letting us come back

-and showing you what we did.

-Thank you.

-Take care. Bye-bye.

Sarah spent a total of £206 on the coffee table.

£180 for the three hand-forged legs from Bex,

the cutting of the wood cost £6 and £20 was spent on wood stain.

With a sale price of 270, that left £64 to return to Jason.

I think Jason was genuinely surprised

and quite pleased with what we did with his chunk of oak.

And £64, I think the family are going to have

a lovely day out with that.

Buoyed by the success of the first item, Sarah is looking for

another gem, this time at the Walsall Recycling Centre.

Is it comfy?

I have no idea. I've never sat in it.

Come on. You've just started!

You can't be needing a sit-down already.

Get a move on.

Your days are numbered.

Scary stuff.

Now she's back on her feet,

she's spotted a vision in red leather in Zia's car.

-Hiya.

-Hi.

-Getting rid of the sofa?

-Yes, we are, yeah.

-Oh, it's a chair.

I thought it was a sofa.

Is it...? It's yours? You're just chucking it out?

-It looks in really good condition.

-It is, but the springs have gone.

-OK.

-So...

-If it's not comfortable...

-No...

-No, I totally understand.

The chair is a red herring.

It's the red leather that's caught Sarah's eye.

I really like the idea of using the leather

from something like this,

so yeah, definitely be great to have a look at it.

-Shall we get it out...

-Yes, absolutely.

..to have a closer look?

The price tag on leather goods is growing.

Repurposing the leather from this sofa could be a real money-maker.

I think...if we might only use the...

Can I have a look at the other cushions?

I think what I might do is just take the cushions away.

I think I should be able to get enough material out of those,

and then recycle the chair, if that's all right.

-That's fine.

-Cos those are some really lovely cushions.

Any ideas what we might make out of them?

Uh...

I think cushions would be a nice, easy option.

Hmm. A little too easy, Zia.

I think it would be great to take those away, if you don't mind.

No problem.

What does Zia think of Sarah scarpering with his cushions?

Hopefully, somebody can get some use out of it

rather than just throwing it in the rubbish bin and go to landfill.

Sarah is going hell for leather to make over this item,

but could she be on a hiding to nothing?

Now, there is just heaps of leather in these cushions.

I really want to see what it's like on the inside

but I can't do that without ripping... Oh, no, look.

OK, so, it's a sort of pink suede on the inside.

I'm thinking maybe this would make, you know,

loads of handbags out of this, or maybe even a coat.

Really good find cos there's just heaps of potential

with what we've got here.

And Sarah knows just the man

to turn all that potential into profit.

When you think bags, think Neil Wragg.

From salvaged unwanted materials,

Neil creates everything from handbags to haversacks,

and prides himself on the fact that his handmade bespoke bags

will last a lifetime.

I love being able to create something

from what would be rubbish, I suppose, to other people.

You could have, for example, a tent that was at Glastonbury

and saw the Rolling Stones and then now it becomes a bag,

and it's seen quite a life already.

So, everything here has got a personality.

All the bags have lived a life,

and they're now about to live a second life.

But will Neil be able to raise the old leather cushions

from the dead too?

-Hello.

-Hi. Hi, Sarah. How are you doing?

I'm really well. I've got presents for you.

Right. I'm a little worried.

There's loads here, aren't there?

Right, well, we've got some funky red cushions.

One, two, three, four, five.

Do you know something,

I thought there was more than enough here

to make something out of,

so you must be able to make a purse out of this lot, Neil.

-Come on.

-I think we can do more than a carrier bag, yeah.

So, we're game on for a bag then, you reckon?

Yes. You've brought be something that I can sew and it's not alive.

Yes, it would be awkward if one of the cushions started to moo.

Time for Sarah to drop the bombshell.

I was hoping for a bespoke range of designer luggage.

That's not difficult, is it?

Luggage I can do. It's just the design.

I absolutely love the messenger bags that you make,

so I was wondering about maybe one of those out of it.

-Easily, yeah.

-And a big, usable, expensive weekend bag out of it.

OK, well, we can do that as well.

But the idea is that things would last a lifetime,

so we've got a good start with the fabric.

I love what you're saying because this has already had its life,

so now if we can make luggage out of it,

another 50 years of wear, that's brilliant.

Phew. That went better than expected.

Neil seems pretty unflappable, but there's always a snag.

I don't like the colour,

and I'm worried that it's not as saleable in this colour,

so I'm wondering if you've ever dyed stuff before

or if you think you might be able to make it a bit more stylish,

a bit darker, a bit richer.

Well, that would be a journey, won't it?

We have enough fabric. We can do some tests.

We can give it a go.

Not the most confidence-inspiring answer from Neil.

I'm not sure dyeing is something he's keen on.

And there's still the matter of the material for the lining.

The ethos of what I do is to make things

out of something that would end up in landfill.

So, this used to be an old Scout tent.

It's heavy-duty canvas, so I think we use that as lining.

-That is right up my street. Scout canvas. Perfect.

-Great.

That has now got a nose-to-tail kind of story.

Once upon a time, there was some manky tents

and a smelly old sofa.

Is that the kind of story, Sarah?

So, I think I'm sold.

I've got a messenger bag on one shoulder,

I've got a beautiful, scrunchy, rich-looking holdall on the other.

-How much is that going to cost me to make me two of those?

-OK.

We're looking at £95 for the messenger bag

and then the holdall, we could say the same thing.

Thank you ever so much. I hope the dyeing goes well.

-Part of the journey.

-Ooh!

Well, that is another load of old rubbish off my mind

and into Neil's.

And if he gets it right, I shall be making bags of money.

It wouldn't be Sarah if there wasn't something awkward.

She wants me to recolour it, so that's going to be the challenge.

So, we'll see.

That's £95 for Neil's tried and tested messenger bag design,

and the same again for a completely new holdall design.

In total, that's £190 committed.

With a new dyeing technique to master

and some worn-out leather to work with,

I do hope Neil can pull it off.

Back in Walthamstow, Daniel has put the final shine on

the Victorian architrave, which has become a massive mirror.

I'm really excited to show Sarah this mirror

because it's quite a big one.

Yeah, pretty excited.

And, on reflection, Sarah is very keen to see it too.

I am truly excited to see what Daniel has done

with our old architrave.

I think this item is going to be stunning.

When Sarah dropped them off, these bits of 19th-century woodwork

were chipped, cobwebbed and destined for dereliction.

Thanks to Daniel's design genius, they have now become

a stylish mirror, ready to grace the very grandest of rooms.

The old bits of carving now form a graceful frame for

the massive mirror within,

which has been delicately engraved with Daniel's own print design.

The original floral details in the architrave have been retained,

reflecting the new item's origins and adding a hint of trendy,

distressed detail to a very polished piece.

-Daniel, it is amazing!

-SHE GASPS

Thank you, thank you.

I work with a lot of different people and I'm lucky enough

to see some pretty stunning things, but, honestly,

Daniel, this is just amazing.

These things were, you know, nearly in the tip,

and look what you've done. It is genuinely a stunning piece.

Really, I am so proud of you for doing that.

-I can't believe how beautifully these have come up.

-Yeah.

Talk me through the etching on it, because it is just lovely.

Well, the etching, I didn't want it to cover it completely because

people always want mirrors to be functional in some way.

But we had so much room to play with, so I thought two jays -

one swooping in from one side and one perched on the other -

was just enough to give it a little bit of narrative and storytelling.

I think whoever ends up owning this - and I have to say,

unfortunately, it can't be me because I would really like this -

they're going to be really lucky. It's a beautiful piece.

Sarah left Daniel with a top budget of £600 and,

not surprisingly, he used every penny.

But the craftsmanship is definitely reflected in the final piece,

and hopefully also in its resale value.

I would put such a high price on this because I think

it's absolutely lovely.

I think it is so original and what you've done with what you

had and the whole thing, what you've done,

is lovely, and I want to see this making a lot of money,

and I'd love to be handing back a big profit to the guy

who dropped the architrave off cos...

-It should sell well, shouldn't it?

-It should do, it should do, yeah.

Yeah.

Sarah is delighted with the massive mirror.

Well done, Dan.

Well, I had high hopes for the mirror, but even I was surprised

how absolutely amazing it looks. That is a total winner.

Sarah's eyes lit up when she spotted Rob's Victorian bootful.

What have you got in the back there?

And Rob was delighted to see them rescued.

I'd love to see them be made use of.

Rob's luck was in because Sarah was more than happy to oblige.

-Something can be done with these, I'm sure.

-She wasn't wrong.

The architraves were completely reimagined and Sarah was on

a mission to find the mirror a new home.

She hosted a pop-up sale in her barn and put it out on sale.

Sarah also tried listing it on online sites,

including eBay, Etsy and social media, but were there any takers?

Sarah is off to see Rob to tell him what became of his architraves.

Since they met, Rob's relocated to North Berwick,

in the east of Scotland.

-Hi there, hello.

-Hello again.

-How are you doing?

-Very well.

-Nice to see you.

-And you. I met you in Godalming.

-That's right.

And you were on the move to here, isn't this fantastic?

We've changed a bit, but, yes, now we are east coast of Scotland.

-Absolutely stunning.

-On a day like this, yes.

You had held on to your architrave for quite a while, hadn't you?

I had. I'd already moved one property

and then it came to another big move,

and whilst I didn't want to lose them,

I hadn't used them and it just felt...

It was a big bit of a stretch to take them to Scotland.

-What were you going to do with it if you'd used it?

-I never knew.

I mean, I enjoy doing up properties and I just thought

they might slip in somewhere in a subtle way,

but I never would've made something creative out of them.

It just would have been a little prop for a shelf

or something of the sort.

I took it along to a guy called Daniel Heath,

who is this fantastic surface pattern designer.

I've got some pictures here to show you what he did.

I hope you approve.

-Here is your architrave...

-Wow!

-..turned into the biggest mirror.

That is stunning, isn't it?

You can completely see what it originally was,

but repurposed beautifully.

I love it, absolutely love it.

I mean, that's brilliant that you've got people you know that

are that skilful to produce wonderful things from

something that I had no purpose for, so...

Fantastic, love it.

It is still for sale and it is one of those things that I need lots

of people to go past it because it's going to be a big investment piece.

When it does find a home, I'm going to be back in touch,

-hopefully garnishing some profit for you.

-Wow.

You never expect that, but that would be lovely.

We've got a lot of work to do on the new house, so anything is a help.

But I just love seeing it repurposed and going in someone's home.

-That's fantastic. Well done. Great work.

-Excellent.

-Thanks ever so much.

-Thank you so much.

-Good luck. Cheers.

-Bye-bye.

Bye.

With Daniel's labour costs coming in on budget of £600 and

the mirror yet to sell, it does mean we may have loss of £600,

but I've got a feeling it won't be long before it is snapped up

and we can return any profit to Rob.

It's now time for Sarah to find something to get her own

creative juices flowing.

Oh, goody. That was a U-bend. Haven't had one of those before.

Er, let's just let that one go, eh?

-Oh, look, Christine and Matthew have a boot full of loot.

-Oh, hiya.

-Hi.

-I love that.

-It's been in the attic for quite a while.

-Isn't it cool?

-No, it's not cool, is it?

-No.

Well, actually, it is cool.

No, I'm with Matthew, it's not cool.

-So you said it's been in an attic?

-Yep. It's Axminster, I think.

-Lovely, British quality wool.

-Yeah, used to be the lounge carpet.

Wow, so...

Yeah, it looks like it's been used,

or may have been under the sideboard or something like that, doesn't it?

So how old's your house?

Well, since the 1930s, so that could be at least 50 years old,

or something like that.

These type of carpets have been made in the Devon town of Axminster

for more than 260 years,

and they're still supplied to classy residences all over the world today.

Christine and Matthew, however, need convincing of this carpet's merits.

People love this kind of thing. Can you see it?

No.

Right, I'm going to roll up the carpet, and thank you

so much for letting me have it.

You're very welcome. Have fun with that.

I will have fun, actually. I really will.

Well, if anyone can have fun with a bit of old carpet, it's Sarah.

Hopefully, Christine and Matthew will see its beauty

when she's done with it.

She said you can trim it up and make a runner, or something, out of it.

Cos actually, it's quite good quality, isn't it?

Or one of those old-fashioned carpet bags.

That might be quite retro, mightn't it, actually?

Yeah, I think Matthew's going to need a little bit more convincing.

Love it? See the potential?

No, honestly, this is going to be lovely.

Beautiful 1950s original carpet.

I don't think this bit has been used that much.

It will need a really good clean-up

if we're going to make any money out of it, but this could be fantastic.

Loads of potential here.

Under the wide skies of the idyllic Sussex countryside...

..Sarah's at home in her farmhouse,

and she's about to get to grips with a colourful item of her own -

that roll of old carpet she grabbed at the tip.

I absolutely love this big, bold floral style of carpet,

but I really want to make the most of it,

so I've decided that I want to make luggage out of it.

Victorians used to make carpet bags and use them all the time,

and original ones sell for an absolute fortune,

but I'm hoping just to create something that is pretty

and usable, and make a few quid out of it.

The Victorians might have been a dab hand at carpet bags, but

Sarah's never made one before, so this job ain't going to be simple.

I think there are going to be quite a few challenges trying to

create something that is useful and saleable.

Especially since the carpet's been gathering dust in an attic.

-So, first job is to give it a really good clean.

-I'll say.

Sarah's borrowed a domestic carpet cleaner for the job,

and she'll need it.

I've never used one before, but can't be that difficult, can it?

Power on.

Before the suitcase became popular, carpet bags were used as luggage

by travellers who would otherwise have to take heavy wooden trunks.

Who knew carpet cleaning was so much fun?

It looks a riot.

So much brighter.

Just going to roll it up in front of the fire,

see if I can get it to dry.

With the carpet de-ponged, Sarah's got to figure out how she'll

create the structure of the new bag she wants to make.

And luckily, somebody who knows I like an old thing

has given me this bag.

Sarah plans to combine the skeleton of the tatty old leather bag

with the carpet fabric to make her new luggage,

but first she'll need to take the bag apart.

I've only got one chance to get this right, so I need to cut carefully.

Maybe I'll just pull it apart first and see what happens.

Maybe you should think it through, Sarah.

Ooh!

Or just rip it to bits, that'll work too.

I don't really like the idea of having a comfort zone,

but I'm well out of it right now.

Excellent, it's all coming together really well(!)

Chin up, Sarah.

But I love a challenge.

Attagirl. With the leather bag stripped back to its bare bones,

she cuts panels from the carpet fabric.

I'm just using a nice sharp craft knife.

It's easier than cutting it up with scissors,

because this is really tough stuff.

As soon as I cut carpet, it starts to fray.

So what I've got to do is find a way of stabilising this edge, so that my

carpet bag doesn't just become a bag of fluff every time you touch it.

-SIGHS

-For goodness' sake, it's a nightmare.

Oh, it's done it again.

That's a real problem,

but Sarah's got a solution in the shape of her trusty sewing machine.

If I were to stitch fabric strips along the edge, maybe I could

stitch the fabric together, and get a really good join in the bag.

Thrifty Sarah had these flowery fabric offcuts at home

that she's now using as the bag's end panels.

Yes, that'll work.

Will it, Sarah? It still looks much more carpet than bag to me.

She has her work cut out if that's ever going to be saleable.

As she already had the scraps of material,

so far Sarah's only spent £5 on some strong glue.

Stick with it, Sarah.

In Marlow, Neil is getting to grips with all that lovely red leather

that he's transforming into a messenger bag and holdall.

And he has lofty ambitions for his work.

These bags don't just hold stuff. They save the planet, you see.

Introducing...super bags! HE CLEARS THROAT

First, Neil cuts the leather to his ready-made templates.

Sometimes it's quite cool to keep these seams in

so that it looks like it was a sofa.

Sarah has always asked that these leather-clad superheroes

transform from Superman red to Batman black.

Don't mind us.

Oh, look. Catwoman. CAT MEOWS

Dyeing can be a messy business,

so Neil has moved outside with the leather pieces

he has cut to size and cleaned.

He's painting an oil-based dye directly onto the surface

until it soaks in, being careful to keep it even.

They need 24 hours to dry, but here are some he made earlier.

Get a few coats buffered up and finish it off with some cream.

Despite all that fuss, it looks like this dyeing malarkey

is not so scary after all.

With the leather now ready, Neil is choosing and cutting

parts of the Scout tent canvas he's using for lining.

You don't know where it's already been.

It could've been a tent that saw the Stones at Glastonbury.

It could've been a tent that has done a trek to the Himalayas.

Or perhaps more likely it housed loads of freezing children.

You don't want to lose their personality,

so we might keep in some of the old writing or labels.

We can keep some of these in. Makes it look very tent-like.

So, the only problem with doing this is it's going to make

some parts of it really thick.

Luckily, his heavy-duty sewing machine,

nicknamed The Blaster, is up to the task.

And it's important to Neil that his bags are fit for purpose, too.

Nowadays, you've got laptops, iPads, tablets.

There's so much to carry.

People just want to carry something that's going to last.

Neil clips and sews the gusset and the back pieces

using The Blaster.

I have to use the clips cos you can't use pins with leather,

cos you'll end up with holes all over the place.

I'm sewing everything inside out, so there's no stitching being shown.

So, this is the body of the bag.

See, if you've sewn everything upside down,

back to front, inside out.

We've got one pocket there, which is obviously the old tent.

One pocket there for your tablet.

One pocket there for your mobile phone.

Better get on the next phase.

That messenger bag still needs a cape. Sorry, flap.

And he's also got to make the holdall,

and Neil has never made one before.

I need to attach it to the top...

..first, and then I can turn it right side out afterwards.

Shall we just leave him to it?

Back in her farmhouse in the West Sussex countryside,

Sarah is putting the finishing touches to her new carpet bag.

I'm going to make sure this side is really well stuck before I carry on.

When she picked it up, this was a length of unloved floral carpet.

Now, Sarah's transformed it into an attractive, useful

and quirky carpet bag, just waiting to be packed for a weekend away.

The frame of the old leather satchel has been incorporated to give

the bag structure, and the contrasting floral fabric

at the sides gives it a sophisticated look.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Well, it turns out that you really can make a carpet bag

out of an old rug.

-I'm really pleased with it.

-Jolly good.

When Sarah first spied them, Christine and Matthew were chucking

out scraps of unwanted carpet that had been stashed in the loft.

-I love that!

-Been in attic for quite a while.

They weren't that sure Sarah was on to a winner here.

-People love this kind of thing. Can you see it?

-No.

But they gave her their strip of carpet, and their blessing.

Sarah's taking photos in order to sell the new luggage.

And, sure enough, one stylish buyer snapped up the bag.

Now, 21st century girl Sarah's straight back on the laptop.

Matthew and Christine spend their winters in Spain.

So, Sarah will speak to them via webcam.

BOTH: Hello!

-Hi, guys! How are you?

-Good thank you, yes.

It was great that you came along with your carpet just when you did,

because I'd been looking for something like that for ages

-to work on.

-Oh, really?

I've sent you some pictures of what we did with it.

Oh! Oh, my God!

-That's unbelievable.

-No, is that the same carpet? Wow.

It just looks like high-end, sort of unbelievable transformation.

I sold it as well, after I'd made it,

and I've got, I don't know if you can see it properly here...

I've got a little something to share with you for your carpet.

£90 here for you that I'm going to send over to Spain, for you.

That is just amazing.

We didn't expect anything like that, and we just thought, well...

What we could do with the money,

maybe, my mother's coming over, we'll take her for a paella.

Well, that's fantastic news.

Well, it was really lovely to catch up with you,

and I'm so pleased you're having such a lovely time over there,

-and I will wire this across to you as soon as.

-Aww.

Take care, thanks ever so much. Bye-bye.

Spendthrift Sarah spent a grand total of £5 on craft glue for

that transformation, as she already had the leather bag and fabric.

Sarah sold the carpet bag for £95,

giving her a £90 profit to pass on to Christine and Matthew.

Ole!

In Marlow, Neil has transformed those old red leather cushions

into bags, and he's doing the last few stitches ahead of Sarah's visit.

I've enjoyed it.

It's been nice to get a really high-quality finish product

from fairly challenging leather.

The transformation has been pretty huge,

so I think she'll be pleased.

I hope so.

Well, Neil's confident, but will Sarah agree?

I'm back in Marlow to pick up hopefully some high-end luggage,

but I have been a little bit anxious

because the materials I left Neil with were anything but high-end.

Sarah left Neil with some unsightly and worn red cushions,

hoping he could make some luggage.

They are now two beautiful handcrafted bags.

Neil has carefully dyed the leather to give the bags a high-end sheen.

The messenger bag has been dyed black and has pockets galore,

incorporating charming details from the Scout tents he's used as lining.

And that holdall, now a dark brown, is almost indestructible

with sturdy straps and reinforced corners.

Sarah's got to be impressed with these, Neil.

-Heya.

-Hey.

-How are you doing?

-I'm very well. How are you?

-Yeah, really well.

-Good. Come on in.

Where are they?

Here they are.

So, we have what they started off as and what they finished up as.

Neil, they are amazing.

-Good. I'm glad you like them.

-I'm blown away. Honestly.

-Good.

I'm really... Don't look. I'm...

I'm getting emotional about them. I can't believe...

Sorry. Just give me a...

Look at the detail. I've even got little...

-Yeah, so you can lock...

-I'm going to cry. Stop the...

Honestly. I don't often get moved to tears by...

by bits of leather from the tip.

It was fun.

The transformation, the dyeing, the changing of the colour.

The leather is good enough quality, so it's made a decent bag.

It's actually a work of art. I'm crying. Don't look at me.

Oh, dear.

And then messenger bag as well.

Yes. So, again, slightly different colour. We've gone for black.

As much leather as I could use.

And we've got the old toggles from the tent.

That was a window, which is now magnetic.

It was a big journey from the old burgundy sofa.

-It's fantastic.

-Yeah. Great.

Sarah is delighted with Neil's craftsmanship,

but has he blown the budget?

I don't even want to talk about money,

but I know I think I left you with £95 per item.

Even though there was some extra designing

and some extra dyeing to do, it was straightforward,

so they've come within budget.

I shall have no problem selling those.

Brilliant.

Thank you so much. They are just brilliant.

It was a pleasure.

I could not have been more surprised and delighted

with what Neil has managed to produce -

two stunning bags on budget.

Absolutely amazed.

I didn't expect her to be quite so emotional

about a pair of leather bags,

but she seemed to be really pleased with them.

At the recycling centre, Zia's leather armchair

was being put out to pasture,

and his ideas for it were lacking imagination.

Any ideas what we might make out of them?

Uh, I think cushions would be a nice easy option.

But Sarah had bigger ideas for Neil to implement.

He gave the old leather a new life as luggage.

They were soon bagged by Nick and Kim,

who run vintage and retro retailer Smithers of Stamford.

-What do you reckon?

-Yeah, I like them. I love the stitching.

Yeah, apparently it was made from an old sofa, a leather sofa.

-Done a good job, hasn't he?

-Yeah.

-Quality.

Now Sarah is back in the Midlands with some cash for Zia.

-Hiya.

-Hi.

-Zia, lovely to see you again.

-Nice to see you again.

-How are you?

-I'm very well, thank you.

Now, I last saw you at the tip and you were dropping off

your old sofa cushions.

-Had you had the sofa for ages?

-Around six or seven years.

Obviously, we were about to dispose of it.

Quite interesting to see what you've done with it.

They went off to a lovely guy called Neil in Marlow.

He specialises in making bags from refound materials.

I've got some pictures here of what he made.

-I want to see what do you think.

-OK.

Wow.

That's amazing. It looks nothing like the cushions we gave you.

There's more.

He made a messenger bag and a going away back.

That's absolutely amazing.

I was really surprised about how they looked.

I'd never have imagined they'd turn out like that.

And we have actually sold those two bags,

and I've got some profit that I'd like to share with you.

Thank you very much.

So, I've got £60 here to give to you that came from those bags.

-Thank you very much.

-So, that's... Absolute pleasure.

Is there anything that £60 is needed for at the moment?

I think I'll treat the kids, really.

-They just got back from school, so we'll give them a treat.

-Lovely.

-Thank you so much for your time today.

-No, you're welcome.

-Thank you.

-Take care. Bye-bye.

-Bye.

Well, I think Zia was quite surprised

with what we did with his old cushions.

And as a transformation, I think it would be difficult

to beat sofa into luxury luggage.

Neil charged a total of £190 for labour and materials for the bags.

Sarah sold them for £250, leaving a profit of £60 for Zia

and his kids.

Sarah has prevented four forlorn items from ending up in a skip.

Jason's chunk of oak was turned into a classy industrial coffee table.

Rob's Victorian architrave was reimagined as

a stunnning designer mirror.

Christine and Matthew's cast-off old carpet

has a bright new future as a treasured weekend holdall.

And Zia's old leather cushions were dyed and stitched into stylish bags.

It's sometimes challenging changing the stuff I find at

the tip into high-end treasure, but it's always worth it.

The results are fantastic and we get to make a little bit of money.