Episode 18 Money for Nothing

Now, 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 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!

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

A work of art.

..valuable...

THEY LAUGH

..and hopefully saleable items.

Holy Moley!

If Sarah is successful,

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

there was cash to be made from their trash.

Thank you. I'm astonished!

Today, Sarah is in Surrey at the Witley Recycling Centre,

a final resting place for all our old odds and ends.

But for Sarah, this is an opportunity to take that stash

and turn it into cash.

The sun is coming out and the cars are rolling in here.

I'm patrolling this place to try and find the treasures that are being thrown out

and make some money for nothing.

Sarah has been granted special permission from the recycling centre

to undertake this venture.

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 in the car or into the skip?

I was hoping somebody would be able to re-use it.

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

-Do you remember it being used?

-I do. My mum regularly made clothes for us.

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 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 really like to have a look inside it. Some of them are really

collectable, some are just decorative.

But some of them are 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've got a key, or a screwdriver, that would be great.

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

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 is a little screwdriver

or anything we can use.

You know how to pick a lock, too, Sarah?

-Very talented.

-That might.

Give that a go, yeah?

Harder than it looks, eh?

Right for tight, loose for left.

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?

-That would be super, yeah.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you ever so much.

-Really nice to have met you here.

-You, too.

-Ooh, the mystery machine!

Sarah is 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 to say a doorstop, because that just wouldn't be appropriate!

Um...

Maybe a lamp stand.

Maybe a beautiful lamp stand.

That would be nice.

It really is quite exciting what might be under there.

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

Well, I know a couple of boys with a 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.

I'm Josh and this is Oli.

And we are Forge Creative.

I think the main thing we love is designing new products and new

furniture, where you've got that idea

and you come into the workshop and just see it come to life.

The sort of thing we'd like Sarah to bring us

would probably be something with a bit of character, a bit of age to it.

I think we like something with a bit of a story.

Like a rusty bit of metal or a weathered bit of wood, something like that,

that's got a bit of history and character to it.

Well, we're not sure exactly what it is,

although it's probably just a sewing machine.

We are officially off and running today.

And Sarah's back on the march.

She's desperately hunting for our next assignment.

I'm ready.

I'll take anything, if I can cut it up and make something out of it,

I'm going to have it.

Whoa, Sarah is in the zone.

Glad someone is.

Is this time for my afternoon nap yet?

Luckily, Sarah spots some familiar faces.

John and Barbara - we've met them before and once again

they might have just the thing for Sarah to save.

This looks quite interesting - what's that?

That was my brother's drawing board.

OK. Was he an architect or something?

He did train as an architect, although he worked as an engineer mostly.

He would have used that at home, I think, mainly for doing drawings

of model boats and model steam engines. He made a lot of models.

Excellent. Would it be possible to pull it out and have a look,

see if it's... see what the other side looks like?

-Hopefully it should be smooth.

-Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.

It's a shame to chuck it away, really.

But nobody uses drawing boards these days because everything is done on the computer.

It's the way of the world nowadays, I'm afraid, John.

I'm really pleased that I was here when this arrived here

because I love anything that is old.

I always think it's so much nicer than anything new.

It would be nice if somebody had a use for it but unfortunately

everybody's is chucking out drawing boards now.

-If it would be something you would let me have rather than going in there?

-Great, yes.

Thank you very much. I hope I do something with it that does it justice.

It's charming, I think.

Charming is exactly right, Sarah.

Any thoughts from John and Barbara about its future?

I can imagine it could make a piece of furniture,

like a very nice table top.

I think her looking at it with a different eye has made me look at it with different eyes,

rather than just something that can be got rid of.

Let's hope she does something good.

I'm sure she will.

Good on you, Barbara.

I know what you're thinking - you're going to be making all sorts of jokes

about going back to the drawing board, making up new designs,

but seriously, this is a fantastic find.

Anything industrial with this chunky look and beautiful surface

has got to have potential to be transformed into something that makes money.

It had better, Sarah.

Or it will be back to the old drawing...

All right, I won't say it. But I know a lady who may.

Designer Bex Simon is an artisan blacksmith who can manipulate metal

into magnificent moneymakers.

Blacksmithing as a craft,

it hasn't really changed over the hundreds and hundreds of years

it's been around.

We still use fire as a tool, we've got an anvil and a hammer.

There is something very medieval about it.

With husband Dave by her side,

this team produces high-end furniture and bespoke metal commissions.

My passion for the craft is trying to use it in contemporary ways.

Still keep it alive and involve it as much as I can with any job that we do.

Well, I'm not sure how many blacksmithing techniques

you'll be able to use on this wooden table.

Two items in the bag,

and now Sarah is on the prowl for a project for herself.

So, picture yourself spending all day at the tip.

I'm starting to worry about your frame of mind, Sarah.

I know, we're both as bad as each other.

Nick, save us!

Anything interesting in your car today?

I'm throwing away probably the contents of the loft today.

It's about my 15th trip to the dump. I'm moving house after 25 years.

25 years of stuff!

Music to Sarah's ears.

Hello, hello. I like your china.

Hi!

Are you moving? Are you clearing out?

-Moving house.

-Anything that might be interesting for recycling?

-That's electricals.

-Electricals, OK.

Is that going in there?

That's going in there.

Nobody wants silver-plate cutlery. I can't give it away.

It's nicely plated.

-Yes.

-It's A1, which is best quality.

Lovely stuff.

There are beautiful. When did you last use this lot?

That was my mother's.

And I've kept it since she died, trying to do something with it.

But as we are moving, we've got to limit the stuff that we take with us.

I totally understand that.

If I could take that bit.

-You can take that.

-I would love to try and save some of it and do something with it,

and then, if it's all right,

to come and show you what I've done or see where it's gone to.

It would be great to keep in touch,

but that to me is a bag of history in there

that I would love to just make sure it can...

-Whatever you like.

-Brilliant, thank you so much for letting me have it.

-Good luck with the move.

-Thank you.

Lift with the legs, Sarah.

It's so heavy.

Does Nick have any thoughts about Sarah's plans for his mum's old cutlery?

I've no idea. I hope she finds a good use for them

because it breaks my heart to throw some of it away, but...

nobody wants them any more.

Well, Sarah certainly does.

And she looks very happy about it indeed.

I feel like a very proud mother.

At the end of a successful day, Sarah has her three items.

Josh and Oli will endeavour to open this sewing machine box,

Bex will take on the architect's table

and Sarah will sort through Nick's family silver-plated cutlery.

I'm confident that I've saved items that are worthy of transformation.

It is, after all, at this stage, a game of chance.

But as far as I'm concerned, game on.

Now, we travel out into the tranquil West Sussex countryside,

home to countless horses, sheep and kids on bikes.

Hey, shouldn't you be in school?

It's also home to master makers Josh and Oli.

Sarah is bringing along the mystery box, but what will they find inside?

I'm sticking with sewing machine.

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 hoping I'm not about to stitch them up.

Hello. How are you?

-OK.

-I've got something for you.

All right.

I actually need a hand with it.

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

so I have never seen inside it.

-OK.

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

-Maybe it's not a sewing machine.

It could be anything in there.

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.

Ah, it's electric!

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?

Hmmm...

Yes, it's a sewing machine, Oli.

It would almost be cool to take the whole thing

apart into the individual components

and then, like, see what we could do with them.

Lay them out as like a blueprint, almost.

What can you put it back into that is completely different and that moves in a funny way or something?

The only thing I would say, it is really difficult to sail 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 the budget for £250, £300,

-take it apart and see what happens.

-See what happens.

And come back and surprise me.

Yeah, brilliant.

Thanks ever so much.

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

Hey! Not that.

Well, they've sown 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-£300.

It's a fair chunk of money,

so Sarah is taking a gamble on the boys coming up with something

that will be saleable.

Or coming up with anything at all.

Near Guildford in the Surrey countryside,

blacksmith Bex Simon is in her workshop and helped today by husband Dave.

They're waiting on Sarah,

who is about to drop off her latest puzzler.

She does like to challenge us with things, doesn't she?

She does, she hasn't defeated us yet.

I'm sure whatever it is, it will speak to us.

-Yeah.

-Volumes.

-Have a charm

that will charm us.

Hi!

-Come on in.

-Can you guess what it is?

No, it looks really interesting.

It's a drawing board.

-Oh, wow.

-It is a double elephant drawing board.

-Have you heard of that?

-No.

Double elephant is an old English paper size

used in the stationery and printing trades.

This imperial sizing was replaced by the modern international paper sizes

such as A4 in 1959.

Look, you've got the weights and things.

Yeah, and this lovely slide that would have gone up and down it.

I was thinking I could leave you with these lovely bits as components

and I could come back and find an amazing desk!

How about kitchen unit?

Maybe an island in the kitchen?

We've got these lovely bits you could use for hanging pots and pans off it or

suspending stuff underneath, or knives going through it.

Would that work?

I think that would be a good plan for it.

A freestanding kitchen unit.

Sounds charming.

You already have the table top,

so that means you just have to come up with a base of some kind.

And that shouldn't cost an arm and a leg, should it?

What are you thinking about cost-wise it's going to be to make one?

About £550, six...

Did you say £550? Great.

That's lovely. Aim for £550.

Try and get it done on that. Go for it.

-See you soon! Thank you.

-Bye.

That kitchen unit sounds fantastic, and I think it'll be really saleable.

They are going to give it their own special touch, though, aren't they?

We are looking at £550 to convert the architect's table

into a kitchen unit. It sounds quite simple,

so Bex and Dave will have to use their special touch to make this one a masterpiece.

In the quiet Sussex countryside,

Sarah is at home in her cosy farmhouse.

And she's preparing to start on her own cash-generating conundrum.

She has a huge collection of old silver-plated cutlery,

which is desperately in need of further investigation.

I think the best thing to do is get it all out,

lay it out and find out exactly what we've got in there.

But I think there's money to be made here.

That's the name of the game.

All the cutlery made should have assay marks on the back -

these are hallmarks that say where it was made,

who the manufacturer was, and then what kind of plate it is.

Silver-plated items are made from a base metal which has been coated

with a fine layer of precious silver,

giving a high-class appearance for a lower cost than hugely expensive solid silver.

It came in different grades, so something like A1 is what you really want,

which means it had the most silver dipped on to it

so it's the thickest grade of silver.

She's finding rather a lot of that A1 grade silver plate.

And it's cutlery all of the same design.

I am literally like a kid in a candy store with this.

I'm hoping if we get a full set of this -

this is a six-piece place setting -

and if they've hung on to all the knives

and haven't chucked anything out, that makes it much more saleable.

While she collects items from that set,

she is also finding some other promising pieces.

They had cutlery back in the day

that we don't even think about using any more. That's a mustard spoon.

Don't think anybody uses those much.

I've got one.

Of course you do, Sarah.

It looks like she's in luck with the set of matching cutlery.

So, that is one full canteen of cutlery there,

so that is great to have a full set there,

but even bundles of these other stuff put together and polished up,

they're going to make some money.

Speaking of polishing,

that amount of silverware, it'll be no small job.

I'm sure it's going to look a lot better when it's all shiny.

I can see myself in that now, lovely.

You are, Sarah, you are.

The only cost involved in this project is a bit of silver polish.

But, for a collection of cutlery that couldn't be given away,

I'm not sure bit of polish will be enough

for people to pay top dollar for them.

Elsewhere in Sussex,

let's see if Josh and Oli have finally come up with a plan for the old sewing machine.

This bit holds your teabag and when you start it,

it drops it into the mug and then that gives it a good old stir.

You would get some real good brew off that.

POP!

I take it that's a no, then.

-Let's get this thing apart.

-Righto.

Josh and Oli begin to dismantle the sewing machine,

with the biggest screwdriver I've ever seen.

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

inspiration will strike.

Somewhere within this is some gold.

Yes.

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 are doing just...

oh, no, here we go.

It looks like Oli's come up with something.

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.

I've got a feeling she's not going to be happy.

Oh, Josh! Oli spent ages on that.

Sorry, Oli. Maybe you can make another robot friend with the leftovers.

Well, it's clear nothing much is getting achieved around here.

We'll give you some more time to think,

but you'd better get your thinking caps on and come up with something,

and quickly. Thank you.

Back in Surrey, let's hope that Bex and Dave have a clearer plan drawn up

for the architect's table-cum-kitchen unit.

Clear as mud.

OK, so, this is the structure of how it's going to be,

it's going to be three-leafed, well, two-leafed with a centre bit.

We are going to split some steel so that's your framework

and these will be the swinging leaves out, so that's the plan.

SHE CHUCKLES

Bit confused, Dave?

Me too.

OK, so let's get this up.

But it sounds as if Bex's plan is to split the table top in three

to have two drop-leaf extendable sides.

How did you work that out?

Super clever.

As for the base,

Bex has an intricate design in mind that looks like it will be difficult

to bring to life.

She starts by picking out lengths of scrap steel to make into legs,

cutting them to size using a donkey saw,

otherwise known as a power hacksaw,

it drops cutting fluid onto the steel, which helps lubricate and helps protect the saw.

Once that's done, Bex plans to use the ancient art of splitting

to bend the legs into shape.

With blacksmithing, you've got about five or six sort of basic techniques

that are always used and this thing is one of them.

Splitting involves first marking the steel with the chisel,

then the metal is heated...

..beaten...

heated...

-Stop!

-..beaten...

and you get the idea,

until the once-solid metal bends like plasticine,

creating a split down the middle.

It is such a wonderful craft and it's so exciting, you know,

watching the chisel going through that hot metal,

it gives it soul.

As Bex continues bending,

Dave starts to make a frame

that will join the wooden top to the metal legs.

He welds together steel bars using a filler material

that forms a pool of molten metal at the join.

This will cool to make a join

that is as strong or even stronger than the base material.

Bex is still bending those legs.

She's just about done with one of them,

but she still got another three to do.

Time is getting on.

It's going to look nice.

Ye of little faith.

Back in Sussex, would you believe it, Josh and Oli have a plan.

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.

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

A barber's kit?

Excellent. Wait.

But what is this?

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

so I'm trying to figure out some kind of little mechanical desk toy

and, 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.

Yeah, you heard it right.

Josh is going to make a mechanical reptile desk toy.

With so much time used up already,

it will be a race to the finish between the tortoise and the...

hare.

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 all the existing

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

While Josh has got something special

he wants to incorporate into the design.

I got this off my grandad and this was like an old roofing tool,

so they used to beat lead with it, so that'll be perfect for making

little gears and pulleys out of.

Aw, that's sweet! You can dedicate the piece in memory of your grandad.

-Grandad is still around.

-Oops, sorry.

Oli's barber box is coming along nicely.

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

And even Josh's desk toy is taking shape.

-Keeps falling off.

-Kind of.

Oli looks to have his project under control.

Just needed to tweak it a little bit.

But the turtle, they've used up so much time already,

I'm not sure it's going to be worth it.

Back home at her farmhouse, Sarah is...

yep, still polishing.

(Shiny.)

In amongst the silver-plate,

Sarah's found a few items that look to be the genuine article.

That is an 1840 Georgian silver spoon.

In its own right, that's at least 50 quid sitting there.

This lot, I'm not quite sure what to do with because I feel some

responsibility for them.

But that lot, they are decorative, they are saleable.

I reckon they are good to go.

Well, then, let's go.

When Sarah saw the bag of silver-plated flatware,

it was headed to the tip.

But with a bit of elbow grease, she's made them shiny,

bright and sparkling again.

Through tirelessly sorting it all,

Sarah's discovered, among other things,

a full 50-piece silver-plated dining set

and a small collection of solid silver pieces, too.

So, with this lot, Sarah must stand a good chance of making a profit.

Loads of different things here that need to get photographed,

made to look special, and put online.

Oh, I like your china.

When Sarah stopped Nick at the dump, she pounced on his bag of tableware.

That was my mother's.

-Right.

-And I've kept it since she died, trying to do something with it.

Although it wasn't solid silver,

Sarah still thought it might be worth a bob or two.

It's A1, which is best quality.

And Nick was just happy that it didn't end up in the skip.

I hope she finds a good use for them because it breaks my heart to throw

some of it away. But nobody wants them any more.

Well, Nick, that might not be the case.

Sarah has shared pictures on social media to see if any

of the flash flatware would sell.

And do you know what? Some of it did.

Sarah's travelled to Pilton in Somerset

to catch up with Nick

and she might just have a little surprise for him.

-Hi, Nick.

-Hello, Sarah.

-Hi there. How are you doing?

-Very well, thank you.

-When I last saw you,

you looked like you were at the end of a very long moving process.

Was it a busy time?

25 years of stuff.

I know that you dropped off a big bag of old cutlery

that you were going to put into re-use, weren't you?

-Yes.

-And so I had hoped that I would have a good look through it and find

it was littered with Georgian silver and...

-I'd already done that.

-..various stuff.

You had done it, but you'd missed these bits.

OK.

I don't know if you'd recognise these.

I thought I'd saved those knife and fork.

So those are a beautiful solid silver christening set.

Yes. That was just the hassle, I think, I missed them.

-Thank you.

-An absolute pleasure.

So this stunning Georgian silver spoon,

something with your family crest on it, I think...

It's got... Yeah, that's got our name on it.

That's John Inskip, who was my grandfather's father, so my great-grandfather,

and he would have been turning in his grave, I expect,

if he knew I'd thrown it away.

I've actually got some pictures of the other stuff, just so you could have a look at it.

Amongst it, there were some old pieces of plate,

lots of things like jam spoons and things like that, that people don't use any more, do they?

-That's right.

-Well, I did share the pictures of your cutlery online

and it turns out some people love a jam spoon

and really like a fish knife,

so I have actually got some money to hand over to you as well.

I've got £205 here for the best of your cutlery.

That's phenomenal, quite unexpected.

Is there something that you might do?

We'll probably give it to the British Heart Foundation

cos that was the charity that my mother...

that we gave money to when Mum died, so that will probably go there.

Thank you very much indeed.

It was a total pleasure. Lovely to see you again and in your charming new house.

Thank you ever so much.

-Thanks very much.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

The total for all the cutlery Sarah managed to sell

came to £207 and, with just £2 of silver polish to take off,

that leaves Nick with £205 to donate to charity.

What's Sarah's done is brilliant.

I didn't know what to do with the cutlery.

It was beautiful but I couldn't give it away.

And she's found homes for it.

The money is just a bonus and I can use that and give it to the charity.

Brilliant!

And now we head back to Sussex.

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 there'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 razor made from a decorative plate

from the sewing machine, and a handmade shaving brush.

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

But that's not all, folks.

Josh made this turtle.

-Hi, guys.

-Hey, Sarah.

-How you doing?

-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.

What's inside it?

Remember it didn't have a key?

-Yeah.

-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 have got a dish for your shaving cream and shaving brush.

-And we've even made a razor.

-Ohhh! I know what...

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

-Yeah!

Fantastic. That is really clever.

Lovely. What did you do with the rest of it?

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

-Have you?

-So...

So, while I was doing that, Josh had his own little project.

This is a little desk turtle.

I've always wanted a desk turtle!

How come I 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.

-Just, yeah, 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, but...

-What are you saying?!

A 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 what we were going to,

but we'll call it 300.

Really? OK, well,

I think the world's first fully operational desk turtle

and mobile barber's shop are a triumph.

-Thank you ever so much.

-Cool, you're welcome.

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

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.

-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 as to what it might become.

Maybe a lamp stand?

Maybe a 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 snapped up by Nick,

a regular customer of Sarah's, who operates online store,

Smithers of Stanford.

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, how are you?

-I'm Mia.

-Oh, hi, there, Mia.

When I first met you at the recycling centre,

-we couldn't open your sewing machine.

-No.

And it's odd that I've actually found the key since.

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, who knew how to get into it.

Have you thought about something that might be 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's shop.

-Wow. I love that colour, don't you?

-Mm!

So it has proved pretty popular and it has sold.

Oh, really? Oh, fantastic.

Yeah, so I have actually got £25 here 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.

Oh, and before I go, I've actually got a little something here as a memento for you.

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

-Wow.

-What do you think?

-Cool!

-Do you want to have a turn?

They saved some bits. They wanted to make something mechanical out of it.

-I remember this wheel!

-That's so cool!

-My mum sitting at the table turning the wheel around.

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.

In deepest Surrey, Bex and her husband Dave

have completed work on their architect's table-cum-kitchen unit

and they are eager for Sarah's arrival.

We've got an extra little surprise for Sarah that was Dave's idea.

-Thank you, dear.

-THEY LAUGH

Looking forward to seeing Sarah's reaction, really.

I'm coming back to the drawing board to see what Bex and Dave have managed to do with it.

Fingers crossed it's a fantastic kitchen unit.

When Sarah dropped it off,

the best days of the architect's table had drawn to a close.

Now Bex and Dave have transformed it into a practical,

extendable and attractive freestanding kitchen unit.

The wooden table top has been split in three and hinged to make a

foldaway surface space.

All of Bex's hard work crafting the steel base has paid off

with a geometric, architectural inspired structure,

which is sturdy as well as beautiful.

And leaving nothing to waste,

Dave has used all parts of the drawing table

to make a quirky and useful cookbook holder.

But what will Sarah make of it?

SARAH CHUCKLES

Hey!

It's lovely! Oh, and that's the slide.

Yeah, Dave's added extra, this cookbook stand.

Oh, that's so clever.

That is a lovely use of that old piece of material.

Isn't it cool? It just looks really nice with it.

How have you done this? Because it looks...

That is really cool.

Yeah, we split it and then put the shape into it.

Basically, we used the theme of architecture for the framework.

I think as a balanced piece, that is so lovely.

You guys don't go down the easy route, do you?

-It's really lovely.

-It's got wheels as well, at the back,

so you can move it around.

I absolutely love it.

This transformation took a lot of work.

Have they managed to stick to the budget?

For you, Sarah, it came in on budget.

I'm really pleased.

I think it's really beautiful.

Thank you.

It's a triumph all round.

Bex has even found another use for the multipurpose unit.

My mum wears big, dangly earrings so I feel like my mum!

You look like a spaniel!

This looks quite interesting. What's that?

When Sarah met John and Barbara at the dump,

she loved the look of John's dad's architect's table.

He would have used that for doing drawings of model boats

and model steam engines.

John was sad to see it go...

But it would be nice if somebody had a use for it, but, unfortunately,

everybody is chucking out drawing boards now.

..but was confident it was in safe hands.

-Well, let's hope she does something good.

-I'm sure she will.

You were right, Barbara, she has.

Sarah was then on a mission to find the kitchen unit in new home.

She listed it online on sites

including eBay, Etsy and social media.

But were there any takers?

Sarah's now meeting up again with Barbara and John to show them what

became of their drawing table.

Hi, there. Hello. How are you?

Really nice to see you again.

-And you.

-I saw you last coming to and from the tip.

I loved the architect's drawing board that you...

-My dad...

-..brought along.

-Did you wonder what we might do with it after we took it away?

-Yeah,

I could see that the piece of wood might be useful, but nobody wants

drawing tables any more, so...

I took it to a blacksmith called Bex

and her partner Dave, and they really wanted to work on it.

So I've actually got some pictures to show you of how it ended up.

So they have turned it into...

-Ohhh!

-Mm!

-A kitchen island.

-Oh, that's beautiful.

Dave has made a cookbook stand to go on top of it.

-Oh!

-Oh, yes, that's very clever. Marvellous!

-So, all together,

-what do you think of that?

-That's pretty amazing, actually.

And do you think your father would approve of its re-use?

I think he would very much approve of the fact it was reused at all.

I think he would have been horrified that I was taking it to the dump in

-the first place!

-It is currently up for sale.

I haven't managed to find a buyer for it yet but I have high hopes it will sell

and I will make some profit out of it.

When I have done, I'll be back in touch to share it with you.

-Well, thank you for being there and for taking it.

-Yes, and reusing it!

Definitely reusing it. It was lovely to catch up.

-Thank you so much.

-Yes, bye.

-Nice seeing you again.

Bex and Dave came in on-budget of £550 but as it is yet to find

a new home, we might be £550 down.

But it's a cracking bit of furniture so I'm sure it won't be long

before it's snapped up.

Sarah salvaged three unwanted items from Witney recycling centre.

The bag of cutlery was buffed up and brought back to life.

The sewing machine was totally reimagined.

And the architect's table became a freestanding kitchen unit.

Well, we started off with stuff

that was destined for the tip and we ended up with items

that would take pride of place in any home.

You can't ask for a better result than that.