Episode 17 Money for Nothing

Oh, I like the look of your rubbish.

How do you make money for nothing?

I love a little rummage.

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

we throw out every year.

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

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

before they hit the skip.

That's wartime.

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

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

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

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

-That was brave.

-Oh, the potential!

No!

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

Work of art.

..valuable...

THEY CHUCKLE

..and hopefully saleable items.

Holy Moley!

If Sarah is successful,

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

there was cash to be made from their trash.

Thank you. I'm astonished!

Today, we're at the recycling centre in Altrincham, Greater Manchester,

and lumber lover Sarah's here to stop some waste getting wasted.

Looking around here, you might see lame chairs,

battered bureaus and broken sofas, but I see nothing but potential.

I'm here to rescue, resuscitate and revive tired things

and make some money for nothing along the way.

Unfortunately, we can't all haunt our local recycling centres.

Sarah's got special permission for her mission.

What else have you got in there, then? Shall I have a quick rummage?

Sarah's mining for three rough nuggets which she will transform

into diamonds.

Sarah, in the tip, with the lead pipe.

I have no clue, though, what she intends to do with that.

It looks like there's something with more potential

in Charlotte's boot.

Oh, don't throw those away.

-Are they going in?

-Yeah.

Fancy them?

-Have you got two of them?

-Yeah.

Let's have a look, I'd love to.

So, um, just had enough of them?

-Not comfortable, or...?

-No, never owned them.

They were in the house we've just bought.

-Don't fit with us.

-Just left there and...?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We've got enough chairs already, so, yeah.

Sadly, they've hit the tip.

-When did you move in?

-A couple of weeks ago.

-Is it going all right?

-Yeah, hard work.

-Well, you know, makes you love it even more if you have to do something to it.

-Exactly.

I'd quite like to go and try and do something with these.

-Yeah, you're very welcome.

-Excellent.

I think they're quite interesting.

-You can have them.

-I think they'll only ever be a pair of chairs but,

hopefully, we can make them into something that you really want to own.

It's really nice not to have to chuck it in the bin.

Hopefully, I'll be in touch with some progress on them.

-Yeah, absolutely. Make us jealous.

-Thanks very much.

-All right, bye.

Sarah looks pleased with these finds,

but what does Charlotte think she'll do with them?

I don't know, but I'll be excited to see.

It'll be interesting and I hope she makes us upset that we've thrown them away.

From the look of these rickety old things, she might struggle.

What's the plan, Sarah?

The bad news is they're brown.

They're looking a bit boring,

especially with this maroon flock material on them.

But the good news is, a pair always sells well.

They've got some detail in here that I think could be picked out and made

marvellous and that will really help.

Sarah knows exactly the right person to transform those chairs.

Award-winning textile and wallpaper designer Daniel Heath is a

sustainability guru who relishes the chance to give reclaimed material

a new lease of life.

He adds his sought-after signature-style

to create one-off furniture and contemporary design pieces.

I love what I do because of the challenges that come from every project.

There's never really two projects that are the same.

Every brief is different and every client is different and wants me to

produce something unique for them.

That obviously has an array of challenges

that I have to face every day.

Each one that comes along is different and that's the joy of it.

Daniel says he is a fan of reclaimed rubbish,

but he might be put off by the state of those chairs.

That's item one done, but Sarah's not taking it sitting down.

She still has two items to uncover and the sky's the limit.

I'll take anything. This way.

Nice try, Sarah.

Luckily, she's hovering over a heady haul in Robert's boot.

-What are you chucking out?

-All sorts, a clearance from a seller.

It's nice, look at that.

There you go.

We could really use that. Have you ever used it, or not?

No. Just slightly too large.

No, I think that has potential. This could be a good haul. Keep going.

-Do you mind me looking in your boot?

-Carry on.

That could be a slippery slope.

I think that needs to go back into the metal.

Quite right, Sarah.

That's one vice you really don't need.

But hang on, it looks like there's a more acceptable vice in there, too.

Just... That's really nice.

-Would you like it?

-I might.

Be careful. Worn-out old vices are well-known for falling apart on

people's toes.

It's really heavy. I have to be able to do something with that.

Ouch!

So, is this yours?

Have you ever used it, or...?

I think it was a friend of my son's and there's a bigger one.

There's a massive one, as well, that I've kept.

-It is spare.

-I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this but I'd really

like to see if I can make anything out of it.

Would you mind if I took your vice?

Yeah, I've got another one if you want to make earrings.

If I do manage to make anything, can I show you what I've done?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Excellent.

OK, well, I'll keep in touch

and I'm going to take that and ponder on what to do with it.

-I must be able to do something decorative with it. Thank you ever so much.

-You're very welcome.

-Have a good day.

-And you.

Well, Sarah will need an iron will to make something saleable

out of that thing.

What would Robert do with it, apart from earrings, of course?

Use it as a vice, I would imagine. I think it'd be too heavy for...

A paperweight, doorstop, all sorts of things.

But, er, I wouldn't recommend it as jewellery.

Why have I just taken that?

I know why, it's old, it's solid,

it's got lovely writing on the side of it and it moves around.

I know who likes working with this kind of industrial material

and there's money to be made here.

There is nothing that can't be turned into a lamp

and Guy Trench is here to prove it.

Retired North Sea diver Guy is the mastermind behind his band

of creative craftsmen who can make unique and quirky furnishings

from the flotsam and jetsam of yesteryear.

I think the disposable culture we live in today is appalling, really,

what we throw away but it's not made to last.

In the old days, they made things to last and that's why I like

doing what I do. It's keeping those things alive.

So, for example, the old cameras.

Why have them in the cupboard?

They are something that ought to be brought out. If we can turn them

into a lamp, then we'll keep it. You could say to your grandchildren,

"That's what your great grandpa used to use, that thing."

And it's something they can relate to.

So it's lovely preserving a bit of history.

Isn't that rewarding? Fantastic.

Let's hope Guy finds that rusty old vice every bit as gripping

as his other projects.

That's two items filed under "found".

Sarah will take on the third and final item herself,

if she can find something.

-What are you chucking out?

-Cardboard.

Oh, that's no good.

She's being unusually choosy.

-Are you coming back with any furniture later, then?

-No.

No time for small talk.

No furniture?

If it's furniture you're after, Sarah,

take a look in Adrian's boot.

It's got a lovely pair of legs on it, hasn't it?

More than a pair.

-Two pairs.

-Two pairs of legs.

I see you've got a sweet little piano stool

and something of a dressing table.

It's been up in the loft for a long time.

And it's really just clearing it out.

We have grandchildren and they like to play up there.

This makes a little bit of room for them.

You're throwing stuff out of a certain era here

that is appealing to people today. Lots of people like...

It's a vintage look, I have to say.

-OK.

-Vintage is now over 25 years old, so...

What should I be doing with it, then, do you think?

Bringing it here and letting me have a look at it.

Ray Miller, Liverpool.

So it's not far from home, is it?

They say brown furniture's making a massive comeback.

Oh.

And it's no surprise.

Furniture from this era is often beautifully made

with bags of character

and it will last much longer than the average pine flatpack nonsense.

Sarah's sure that she can turn space saving

into real savings for Adrian.

I hope that she can use them and maybe sell them.

That's fine by me.

It would be nice for them to have a good home.

These are a sweet little pair of vintage items.

The table, nice legs on it.

It's got a little pie crust edge to it.

And this stool was probably in front of a dressing table in the 1950s.

Together, these are the kind of things that I'm seeing £5 each in a

charity shop. Not great in this state

but these have potential to make profit.

Well, that's up to you, Sarah.

With that table and chair nabbed, it's mission complete.

Daniel will give those chairs the once or twice over,

Guy will attempt to squash some profit out of that vice

and Sarah will be getting her teeth into all those lovely legs.

Today, I've managed to gather yet another unusual horde of items

which, once reimagined, I think have a real chance

of making some money for nothing.

Bustling Walthamstow in north-east London

is home to textile and printing aficionado Daniel Heath

who is nervously awaiting Sarah's latest offering.

It seems like she's got something that I'm going to be a bit

unsure about, so I'm a little bit more anxious than normal,

but I guess we'll have to, as ever,

see what comes when it gets here.

Poor little chairs abandoned at the tip.

Somebody's got to show them some love because currently

they're covered in maroon.

Daniel...he's the one.

-Hi.

-Hello, how are you doing?

-Really well. How are things?

-Good to see you.

It's all hugs now but he hasn't seen what Sarah's brought him, yet.

Chairs. Right, OK.

So fairly straightforward, seemingly.

Yeah. Let's go and have a look.

So far, so good.

Dan seems pretty confident.

OK, right.

Some nice detail to it.

They're a bit weak and I am personally a maroon hater.

OK. Well, I think that, you know, the seat is really understuffed.

The frame is sturdy.

Do you think they're suitable for an update?

I think we can probably do something with them.

I'm not sure that they're going to have a huge resale value.

The chairs are around 100 years old

but in their current condition they're unlikely to have any value.

The challenge for Daniel is to add his signature look

without breaking the bank and there's a lot of work to do.

I think, basically, it's going to involve using some fabric

that I've got to re-upholster.

Sand or paint, not really sure.

It looks like they're in OK condition

but I think underneath, that's going to need some new something.

He's happy to work to a budget of £100 per chair

which should leave a bit of room for some profit for Sarah.

Seeing them brought back to life, making just a few quid,

I'm happy to leave them at that.

-I've got great faith that you'll make them look fantastic, so thanks ever so much.

-Thanks, Sarah.

-I hope they're an easy one.

-Cheers.

I feel a little bit sorry for Daniel because those chairs currently are

not a nice prospect but I've brought them here for a reason.

I'm hoping his beautiful deco hand-printed fabrics

are going to give those chairs just what they need

to turn them into something saleable.

I'm glad that Sarah's brought these because they

wouldn't have continued their life in any other way so, if anything,

we're saving them from being broken up.

So, yeah, I'm glad they're here.

Sort of.

Dan's quoted £100 per chair

which makes a total of £200 for the pair.

Daniel's fabric designs will add value

but he's no upholsterer, so those chairs could prove tricky.

Near the historic town of Maldon in Essex

is the workshop of lighting supremo Guy Trench.

Aided as ever by his indispensable sidekick, Keith.

And Sarah's got a treat for them today.

I'm hoping she brings something with a bit of history,

something a bit old, along.

A bit rusty. We can change it a bit, and we can make it look fantastic.

Let's hope Guy doesn't buckle under the pressure of that vice.

I tell you what, it's really lucky that I've got a black book full

of contacts because it's going to take somebody really skilled

to turn that into something that's saleable

and can make a profit.

But it's all right, because I'm here to see Guy.

Hello. How lovely to see you again.

-Good to see you.

-And you.

-Hi, Keith. How are you doing?

-All right?

Um, help. Help.

Oh. A Record vice.

I saw it at the recycling centre,

and I just thought there was something about it,

because it was lovely and chunky and it has all that wear on it,

that it just couldn't go in the metal skip.

They're old and still made today, which is brilliant.

I mean, I thought, because it's got that lovely ability

to sit on a desk and be chunky,

that it could potentially be made into lighting.

I think you're definitely right.

It could definitely be made into lighting.

There's some nice colours we can wear back here,

with wire wool and a bit of furniture remover.

Just have a look, could it be a wall light?

Let's have a look. Could that go on a wall?

-Yeah, like that, I think it is...

-As a wall light?

-Yeah.

-Lovely.

-OK.

You'd need a good fixing and a good beam to put it on to, but...

-I've been carrying it, it's not light, is it?

-No.

Sounds like Sarah's come to the right place for vice advice.

But what about the price?

Let's hope it's nice.

That's a lovely idea.

It looks charming because, before, I thought, you know,

maybe it could just go onto a man's desk.

You're putting that into interiors into restaurants, aren't you,

with that kind of look.

They could have the menu hanging from it.

And wind it up, whatever they like. You know?

Obviously, that's quite a heavy-duty thing to work with.

But what kind of cost are we looking at to get it, the right kind of

electrics in there, you know, the right safety?

Because I know there's loads of people making lighting,

but it's very specific stuff that has to go into something like this, isn't it?

Yeah. I think we're looking at about, probably about £95

to do that, turn that into a wall light.

-That leaves a nice bit of margin to make on it.

-Yes.

So that's a great price, I'm really pleased with that.

I just can't wait to see what it looks like!

-It'll look great.

-Really good to see you.

-Give us a shout when it's ready.

-Thank you, Sarah, lovely.

-And I'll come back and... Can't wait!

-OK.

-Take care! Bye.

-Cheers. Bye-bye.

You can tell when you're in the hands of an expert,

because they just make everything look so simple.

That vice as a wall light?

Genius idea.

It's very different and I don't think anybody in the world

will have a vice as a wall light,

so this will be a first-off and a one-off.

Guy's charging £95 to illuminate that rusty vice.

It's certainly got a long way to go before anyone will want

that industrial hunk of metal hanging on their wall.

At home in Sussex, Sarah's about to start work on her own finds,

and she needs some raw material from yet another dump.

You stay there. Back in a min.

As a huge fan of all things discarded,

Sarah knows exactly where to find her nearest one.

In her own garden.

I'm looking for buried treasure.

If you live in the middle of the country,

100 years ago, nobody collected your rubbish,

so you had to put it somewhere.

Many old and rural properties have an historic rubbish heap

similar to this one hidden away.

And you'll just find little pits with bottles

and old batteries and broken up old enamel, all over the place.

Sarah's been attacking hers for years.

It's probably her favourite place.

She's already got quite a collection of Edwardian and Victorian bottles

and jars but she's just a few short.

These are the inspiration for my next item.

Wait and see.

Gloves might have been a good idea, Sarah.

She's clearly got a plan for those.

And she's set aside that old,

white chair so that she can concentrate on the table.

This sweet, little table I found at the tip, in its own right,

it probably isn't worth very much.

So I'm going to use my dug-up treasure to turn our table

into a posy table.

The Victorians had a habit of covering any available surface

with interesting objects.

In the spring and summer months,

stately homes would proudly display floral blooms as posies

from their walled gardens.

We're going to bring the posy table right back in fashion.

Everybody is going to want one of these.

I certainly do.

Oh, yes, me too, for my stately, er, block of flats.

But, as usual, Sarah's taking things one step further.

She's marking the position of the jars she's dug up,

and she's going to embed them in the table.

All I've got to do now is make some little holes in the top of the table

for them to go in.

I'm going to use this!

That terrifying-looking drill

is fitted with a hole cutter

that you can get in any decent DIY store.

That's scary.

Make sure you're a seasoned driller before attempting this.

Oh, that's perfect.

That will definitely do.

They look really cool.

Next, Sarah tidies up the holes and lightly sands the surface

for painting.

So I'm painting it a lovely blue-black colour,

so that when the posies are in it, they really stand out.

What do you think, Bramble? Bram, what do you think?

Well, Bramble's not impressed and I'm not surprised.

This isn't the most elegant of paid jobs.

I'm not seeking perfection here.

I want a really rough, rustic look.

A really bad paint job will obviously just add to its charms.

She's doing two coats.

That dusty blue on the top and black on the legs.

But Bramble's had enough.

It's like watching paint dry.

It literally is!

HE YAWNS

So what I'm going to do now is just take off all these crispy edges,

to make it look like I haven't just made it.

First, she paints it, then she rubs it off again.

It's hard work, this.

I could do with a bit of a lie-down myself.

What I'm trying to do is imagine how it would have been worn out if

somebody had been using it, like putting all the pots in these holes,

and where they picked it up on the edges.

For Sarah's final trick,

adding a layer of dark wax to complete that vintage feel.

So you can buy these waxes

in all sorts of different colours,

or you can even stir paint into clear wax

and make your own bespoke coloured finish.

Still bored, Bramble?

Bramble! Sausages!

BRAMBLE BARKS

I knew she could hear me.

Sarah's well on her way with her take on Victorian extravagance.

And, with just £5 spent on wax and paint,

it may even make a healthy profit.

But will she actually be able to sell such an unusual item?

In Walthamstow, Daniel Heath has started work

on his two tired chairs and he's already found a problem.

So we have a major wobble that I'm concerned about at the moment.

Let's investigate.

At last, that red flock material is removed,

and there are some unwelcome surprises underneath.

Oh, wow. I think it was just the fabric holding the thing together.

With the chair so fragile,

Daniel decides to take the riskier approach

of drilling through the frame into the leg.

I'm going to try and get this straight

cos, if it goes off at an angle, it's going to come out through

some of the detailing on the leg.

Here we go.

Even the sawdust smells old.

Next, Daniel adds a long screw to hold it all together.

Very, very carefully.

If this wood splits, Sarah may return to only one chair.

I'm going to do the ultimate test now and I'm going to sit on it,

which might make some very entertaining footage.

A bit of movement!

But it's still up.

That's encouraging.

With the legs now structurally sound, sort of,

it's time for Daniel to think fabrics.

As a textile and screen printing expert,

this should be the easy bit.

I want it to be quite sophisticated and not too jazzy.

That is a bit jazzy, Daniel.

Maybe this isn't the ideal colour, or fabric,

but I'm just going to throw around a few ideas and see what we get.

Right, next up, elephants.

This is a circus-themed print and it's got some playful imagery.

Its pattern might work,

and a corduroy might be a nice quality fabric finish

to put on the seat cover.

Before he commits, it's time for some upholstery practice.

We want to make the pad quite thick,

because they were so flat and sad when they arrived.

With his eye on a limited budget,

Dan's got a great source for padding.

These are all foam offcuts from factories.

You can buy them quite cheaply.

You just don't know what you're going to get.

Full marks for your eco-credentials, Daniel,

but it all looks a bit, well, flat.

That looks like a big enough piece.

I might have to glue some bits together, as well.

Daniel cuts a stack of foam pieces to the right shape.

Is he feeling buoyant about upholstery?

I've not done any upholstery before.

So, um, have a practice.

Practice makes perfect.

Wise words.

Dan's using a piece of MDF and cheap cotton as a test

so he doesn't have to experiment with the final material.

I quite like having a go and seeing if I can do something

that I've not done before.

If I'm trying something new out,

I'll just go online and look at videos on YouTube.

He's right. You can find out how to do just about anything online.

How do you think I learned to crochet?

But new skills can take some time to perfect.

Yeah, I think it's safe to say upholstery is certainly more

difficult than I thought it would be.

Yeah, I remember my first crochet hat, Daniel.

It looked like an octopus.

Don't be downhearted.

It only took a few years to get good and you've got a few hours.

Best of luck.

Near Maldon, Guy and Keith are enjoying their heavy metal

and Guy's getting quite excited.

I do like this piece here,

I think it's the best thing Sarah's brought to me, actually.

I love the navy blue in this bit here.

Not so keen on the silver here.

Someone's obviously painted it.

I think what we ought to do is see if we can get rid

of some of that paint. It's just ugly here.

Under Guy's supervision,

Keith attacks the unsightly silver with a sharp blade.

It's coming off, which is really nice.

Then some wire wool.

-That's not bad, is it?

-No.

And, finally, some paint stripper.

Makes life so much easier using these chemicals

to remove nasty bits and pieces.

Perhaps you should have started with that, gents.

Oh, here we go, there is a bit of blue coming through.

Keith's sensibly wearing gloves

as that's nasty stuff to get on your skin.

I think when we finish that that could look rather nice.

-Are you ready for a bit of a wax on that, Keith?

-Try that bit.

-Yeah, OK.

Our busy bees are giving the vice a wax coating

for a clean matte finish.

And slowly, slowly, you're seeing it being transformed.

Lovely. No, that's nice.

That's very nice. Yeah, no. I think that's clean.

Next, Guy calls on another of his associates,

electrician Steve.

Since Guy's making a wall lamp,

Steve fixes it onto a wooden base so that it can be hung

because you don't want that thing falling down.

I think you need to hang this one on something which is fairly sturdy.

A little lightweight plasterboard, it might pull out

so try and find something firm to put this onto.

Steve fixes a metal stem to the vice

that will hold the light,

but Guy's not completely satisfied.

I don't like this.

We've got a lovely old-looking vice here

and we've got a nasty bit of steel,

which is shiny.

It doesn't really go together.

We don't do shiny. We like keeping things nice and old.

After Guy attacks it with some wire wool,

Steve gives it a coat of tourmaline

to darken the metal so it matches the rest of the vice.

Now you can see, we've got a lovely black rod here,

all looks in keeping with the rest of it.

Once it's dry and waxed,

Steve threads his wire through and solders the light fitting in place.

Meanwhile, Guy's grappling with some key design concepts.

It may look better with a shade or without a shade, just a bulb.

Do you know, I don't know.

I'm not sure which is the best way to be.

Decisions, decisions.

Let's have a look at that, Steve.

Yeah, looks quite good.

In Sussex, Sarah's posy table needs a final flourish.

As pretty much nobody's heard of a posy table.

We really need to get these things in context

to take pictures to sell them.

Sarah arranges the flowers and places all the jars in their holes.

OK, that should do it.

But has she brought that humdrum brown table into bloom?

Sarah took an unwanted old white seat and an average occasional

table from the recycling centre.

She soon decided to concentrate her efforts on the table.

Now, Sarah's taken it back in time

and transformed it into a posy table

that wouldn't look out of place in the reception

of a 19th-century stately home.

Those Victorian jars she found in her garden tip

present her bouquets beautifully.

And their colours pop out against the dusty blue

of the warm-looking table.

And Sarah knows exactly who to target for a sale.

I'm really pleased how this has turned out.

The flowers in it look lovely and that's important

because if I'm going to sell this to a florist, it needs to really work.

Definitely worth embracing those power tools.

At the dump, Sarah spotted some of Adrian's furniture.

It's got a lovely pair of legs on it, hasn't it?

It was up in the loft for a long time

and it's really just clearing it out.

Which, sadly, had worn out its welcome.

You can accumulate only so much.

Sarah turned the table into a stunning floral display.

Blooming marvellous!

It looks great and was snapped up by Sara Hughes,

the owner of a vintage furniture store in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

What Sarah's done with it is really imaginative

and I just think it's really fun

and I've got customers who are florists who'll love it.

And now, Sarah's at Adrian's home to surprise him with the good news.

-Hello there.

-Hello there.

Lovely to see you, how are you?

-Hi, there. I'm Sarah.

-Pleased to see you.

-This is my wife, Sarah.

-Another Sarah. Lovely.

-Two Sarahs.

That keeps it very easy for me.

So it was your things, the stool and the little occasional table,

you were dropping off at the recycling centre.

Had they been family pieces, or...?

The stool, yes. The table, no.

I set the stool aside and it was actually the table that I

decided to work on because it had such an interesting shape to it.

I've actually got some pictures here to show you of how it turned out.

But before I do, have you ever heard of a posy table?

A posy table? Presumably for flowers.

What's a posy table?

Well, I can show in a moment but a friend of mine told me about it

and it is this lovely table that gardeners in big estates

used to prepare little bouquets and buttonholes

-for the ladies and gentlemen of the house.

-Wow. Wow!

I've got some pictures to show you.

-Lovely.

-So here is your table.

Oh!

Can we have it back?

-Isn't that lovely?

-It is. Oh, yeah.

-Do you approve of its re-use?

-Oh, yes, absolutely.

-It's lovely.

-It's nice to have something that is now going to be used.

-A second life.

Yes, well, it's been snapped up by a shop and I've managed to make you a

-little bit of profit on it.

-Oh, excellent.

So here is...

£130...

Wow!

For your occasional table.

As we say round here, better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Lovely! Well, yes, I think it's definitely better than that.

-That's wonderful.

-It is, terrific.

Have you got thoughts about what you might do with it?

-Well, yes, we have.

-Alzheimer's Society.

My mother died about ten years ago

and Dad looked after her for a number of years,

well supported by the Alzheimer's Society.

Well, I think that is absolutely lovely and I was really inspired

by your old table and that's a great place for that to go.

-Splendid. Thank you very much.

-A total pleasure.

Lovely to have met you and to catch up with you, Adrian.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you. Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-Thank you.

Sarah spends a modest £5 on the makeover.

She sold the posy table for a whopping £135,

earning Adrian and his wife, Sarah,

£130 of profit.

Well, if Adrian and Sarah's reaction is anything to go by,

there are going to be posy tables popping up everywhere.

I'm delighted that they like what I did with it and I'm so pleased that

that money is going to such a worthy cause.

Sarah's back in Walthamstow to pick up Daniel's first attempt

at upholstery.

Have all those online tutorials paid off?

It's been quite nice to work on the chairs.

It's been challenging cos I haven't done upholstery at all before,

but it's nice to have them finished and looking good.

I'm here to pick up those two little chairs.

Now, Daniel is really going to have to pull it out of the bag with this

one because turning a profit on those, that's tricky.

This pair of unwanted chairs

had seemingly come to the end of the road.

They look more destined for the bonfire than the dining room.

But all they needed was a spark of inspiration.

The chairs are now contemporary and unique.

With new-found skills, Daniel has made the chairs solid and sturdy.

Whilst using his old skills to screen print

one of his designs onto the cord covering.

With a vibrant lick of blue paint offsetting the raised yellow seats,

these chairs would make a bold statement in any room.

Daniel's dug deep with this one.

Let's just hope Sarah's happy with the results.

-Hello.

-Hello, how are you doing?

-Are they them?

-They are, they are. A bit of a transformation.

-They look completely different, don't they?

-They do. Yeah.

Um, comfortable and they look like they would fall apart

-before, didn't they?

-Yeah.

This is beautiful what you've done with the...

I've never seen corduroy printed like that.

Thank you. Yeah, we thought it would be a nice accent piece

for somebody's front room.

And before they didn't look like that.

I mean, they looked like the ones you'd hide away

and get out if you had to

and now, I think it's cos you've luxed up the base bit here,

the seat pad to make it feel, look generous

and they just have a completely different, like warm, comforting

look to them because they just didn't look like that before.

No, no. Yeah, they're quite comfortable.

I can attest to that.

Well, that's great.

But will Sarah be comfortable with how much they've cost?

I think you've done wonders with them.

There was £100 each budget for them.

Is that all right? Did you come in on budget?

-Yeah, that's fine.

-They will sell instantly, won't they? Great.

Yeah, especially with a bit of Daniel Heath action going on on the seat. That's fantastic.

I think if we get them packed up,

-I shall ship them out and see if I can make some money out of them.

-Wonderful.

-Thanks.

-They're great.

-Cheers, thank you.

Sarah's as puffed up as those seat bases.

Does Daniel feel his first attempt at upholstery has been a success?

That went really, really well.

I'm really pleased that Sarah liked the chairs so much.

So yeah, very happy.

Well, if there was one person who was going to make a profit on those

chairs, it was Daniel Heath. I can't wait to get them sold.

At the recycling centre,

Sarah came to the rescue of Charlotte's unwanted chairs.

Don't throw those away!

-Are they going in?

-Yeah.

Fancy them?

And Charlotte wished them well.

I hope she makes us upset that we've thrown them away.

Daniel repaired them and gave them a bang-on-trend makeover.

At home, Sarah uploaded pictures of them onto the internet

on sites including social media, Etsy and eBay.

People looked at the chairs and then decided whether to buy the chairs.

Well, I love Daniel's luxury update of those two little chairs.

They didn't have much potential at the beginning, but now they have,

and I'm hoping they're going to be snapped up soon and when I've made some profit,

I'll be back in touch with Charlotte and giving her the good news.

Daniel's labour and materials came to £200.

With no buyer, as yet, we could be facing a potential loss.

But with a bit more time, we should hopefully find the chairs a new home

and we can hand over some profit.

In Maldon, Sarah can't wait to see what Guy's been up to.

This vice is such a quirky item,

because out of all the designers I know,

I think Guy is pretty much the only one who would take it on.

But who knows what a vice light will actually look like?

Let's go and find out.

The vice was an old rusty lump of metal

with very little aesthetic value.

But thanks to Guy and his team of experts,

it's now been reimagined into a conversation piece wall light

with bags of character.

It's been carefully stripped back to its original paintwork

and waxed for a soft matte look,

giving it the perfect blend of historic and desirable.

The brand-new light fitting has been expertly aged

so it feels as though it's always been there.

And the team have topped it off with an optional lampshade

to give it a sophisticated finish.

They've managed to create a lamp which is undoubtedly one of a kind.

This has got to be my favourite I've done for Sarah.

As a wall light, it really ticks all my boxes.

It's really cool.

It's going to tick her box, I think, it's different.

They say everybody has a vice, but will Sarah want this one?

-Hi, Guy.

-Hi, Sarah. How are you?

That's...

I can't believe it, is that it?

-That's it.

-Isn't that clever?

I can't believe you've turned that horrible thing

into something decorative.

I think it's one of the best things recently I've done

and these actually work,

so we can make the jaws go up smaller or larger

and, um, I think the whole thing looks just amazing.

It's beautiful. You have just the right sort of finish on it, as well.

It's got a nice look to it, it's quite sort of industrial.

We're just showing you it with a feather shade,

but we could have a black shade,

you could have just a funky bulb in, whatever you wanted.

It is really appealing,

I love the fact you put that piece of chunky wood on the back,

because the looks so strong, isn't it?

The vice lamp is an artistic triumph,

but did Guy manage to clamp that budget down?

I think it was £95 to convert the vice, are we anywhere near that?

We are on budget, just.

It is really just.

It's a little bit more extra work than we thought it was,

but as you've brought me lots of things,

we'll keep our word and that's our price to you.

I think it's really exciting that you're creating these one-offs.

And if this is the first vice light ever,

then we're really lucky to have that and I'm pleased it came

into the tip and it's ended up here.

I think it's a lovely ending to its story.

So thank you so much.

So Guy's answered the question,

what does a vice light look like?

And the answer...

Amazing, and really saleable.

I love it and her look on it was, wow, it's really different.

And that's exactly what I'm trying to create for everybody.

I think she loved it.

At the dump Sarah pounced when she spied Robert's bootful.

What are you chucking out?

All sorts, I'm clearing the cellar.

-That's really nice.

-Would you like it?

-I might.

Thankfully, she ignored Robert's suggestions.

I've got another one if you want to make earrings.

Instead, the vice has been transformed into a wall light,

and Sarah was soon able to sell it to Morag Smith,

a furniture and interiors dealer from Berwick-upon-Tweed.

I think the vice lamp is fab.

It's quirky, it's unique.

Um, it has purpose, so it'll sell very well.

Immediately, you're putting an interesting bit of history

into a useful place in the house.

Sarah's back in Greater Manchester

to let Robert know what became of his rusty old vice.

-Hi there!

-Hi, Sarah, how are you?

-I'm really well. Nice to see you again.

-Nice to see you.

When I saw you at the recycling centre,

I thought you were reluctantly throwing out some stuff,

-but were you having a clear-out?

-Yeah, I was having a clear-out of the cellar.

I guess the only thing that was of any value, it was the vice.

And did you think what we might do with it?

You could either use it as a bench vice again, or a doorstop.

I couldn't really imagine anything more artful to do with it.

We took it to a fantastic chap called Guy Trench

and he specialises in making old stuff into lighting,

-so do you want to have a look at what he did?

-Yeah, I'd love to.

-Here is your vice in all...

-I can't wait to see it.

In all its new glory.

Wow, that's amazing.

He cleaned it all up and did that.

That's incredible. I didn't think it would be made into a light.

I was thinking some art feature, or something, if at all.

It was lovely and it has real appeal.

So your light has sold.

It takes quite a lot of investment to turn something like that into a

light, so I've got a little bit of profit for you.

-Oh, lovely.

-I've just got 20 quid.

Oh, brilliant! I was expecting nothing for it, so that's great,

that's really good. I'm going to give that to charity, definitely.

That's fantastic. I'm glad that's going to a good cause.

So thank you ever so much.

-Thank you, Sarah, lovely to meet you.

-Lovely to catch up again.

Guy charged £95 for labour and materials.

The lamp sold for £115.

Leaving a profit of £20 for Robert.

Sarah found three waste wonders at the recycling centre in Altrincham.

Charlotte's suspect seats were given a stand-up makeover.

Robert's old vice was given a new twist as a lamp.

And Adrian's table took a trip back in time.

Well, it might not always be straightforward,

but I'm really proud of those three great transformations,

and it's really good to know

that all those things we saved from the tip are off to brand-new homes.