Episode 8 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 in Surrey today at the Witley Recycling Centre

searching out three items that she can take, transform and trade,

making cash from old trash.

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?

With the first item found,

it's time to press on and search for a second one.

It's bonkers round here. Look at them. Flooding in.

When it's this busy, you have to keep your eyes peeled.

Luckily, Sarah has spotted John

with his Georgian-style chair among all the clutter.

I like your chair.

Well, it's...

-The elbows have gone.

-OK.

-It's a...

-We were going to get it refurbished,

but then we decided just to dump it.

It is tricky, isn't it?

Because it's quite a lot of money to get them reupholstered.

-It is.

-And if you don't love it, then...

-Yeah.

-Yeah. So tell me, how long have you had it?

-And where did it come from?

-I think we've had it for about...

..six years. We got it from a friend of my wife, who is an artist.

It's got a really lovely shape about it.

-Is it comfortable?

-It's very comfortable.

-Can I have a go?

-Yeah.

-It's lovely.

-Yeah.

Isn't it?

Yeah, it's good to sit in.

I think it's lovely, but can I take it away?

-You certainly can.

-Thank you so much for letting me have it.

-Would you be all right just help me over there?

-Yeah.

Georgian furniture is a style which dates between 1714 and 1837

and was made popular by designers such as

Thomas Chippendale and Robert Adam.

The style of John's old chair fits this Georgian period,

with high sides and delicate features.

But what does he think Sarah can do with it?

I would imagine where there's a will and a way

that you could refurbish it,

and then I think it would look really good.

And I'll be interested to see how good it does look.

I think this chair's got a fantastic look.

It is actually reproduction, I think.

But it's cool, because look at all these curves,

there's a lovely shape to it.

Reupholstered, it is going to look fantastic

and I know exactly who to take it to.

Introducing Anthony Devine.

Anthony's unique and quirky upholstery has earned him

the reputation as one of the most imaginative craftspeople around.

Anthony can upholster almost anything,

but he does love a good chair.

First thing I see in a room is a chair.

When I go round to people's houses, I look for quality,

I look to see what I would do differently.

Some chairs look like they're almost, kind of, destined for the tip.

But if you see one ounce of potential, then save it.

I suppose it is a bit of a love affair I have with chairs.

They're very beautiful things.

Anthony loves classic lines, beautiful shapes and stylish looks.

Hopefully, he'll also like this old thing.

Raking through rubbish at the dump for prolonged periods

is enough to send you over the edge if you're not careful.

SARAH SINGS: Disco Inferno

It's been a long day, I've had a hot chocolate, I'm feeling excellent,

I'm looking for one last piece of recycling.

Come to Mummy! What's in the disco?

You go, girl!

Sarah is now on the hunt for an item she can work on.

And has spotted Graham, whose passion in life is his

mini wildlife sanctuary he runs from home.

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

Well, we've got our bazaar on Sunday

and people do bring in bits and pieces.

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

Is that what were saying?

No, I understand that.

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

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

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

-No, no, me too.

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

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

Graham takes in sick and injured wild animals,

something that Sarah's very familiar with herself.

Thank you.

I had three pet foxes when I was growing up.

-Good.

-I used to look after them.

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

Most people are happy with a goldfish.

Graham has already dropped off plenty of picture frames

for Sarah to rummage through.

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

There's one, that's quite sweet.

Look, it's a silver plate or something.

So we'll have a look at that one.

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

Maybe if I put a postcard or something in there,

I could sell them and raise a bit of money.

Bit of embroidery? Maybe. Right.

These frames weren't promising enough to make it

into Graham's own jumble sale,

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

-Lovely to meet you today.

-And you.

-Thanks ever so much.

-You take care.

-OK, bye-bye.

That's three items carefully collected with profit in mind.

The solid-oak offcut will be tackled by blacksmith Bex,

the Georgian-style chair will be a challenge for Anthony

and Sarah will put herself in the picture by working on the frames.

Today has been incredible.

With such a diverse mixture of items found,

I can't wait to see them turned into show-stopping moneymakers.

Sarah's first stop is deep in the heart of the Surrey countryside.

So tranquil...

..unless you're in the workshop of Bex and her husband Dave.

So I used to feel quite nervous about what Sarah was going to

bring round for us to work with, but now I've sort of become

a bit more to expect the unexpected.

I'm glad she feels that way,

as Sarah's about to drop off a lump of wood

to a specialist metalworker.

So you find a big chunk of oak and you immediately think -

well, I did - let's take it to the blacksmiths.

I really need some help with this piece.

I know that Bex and Dave come up with

all sorts of ideas all the time,

I just need one of their really good ones to turn this big chunk of

English oak into something really saleable.

I'm looking forward to seeing what she'll bring today.

In fact, we'll probably go and find some other junk to help try

and upcycle these bits with.

-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?

Manchester has arguably long been the North's creative capital with

musicians, artists and designers keeping it at the cutting edge.

So it's no surprise that master upholsterer

Anthony is on the lookout for something fashionable.

Sarah is on her way today, so I'm quite excited that, you know,

she's looking for what's on-trend,

what's out there and what is going to sell.

Well, how about something that was on-trend over 200 years ago?

I hope he likes it.

I think Anthony is the only man who's going to make this into

something amazing for me, and he's going to have to use

all of his skills if I'm going to make money.

Anthony?

-How are we?

-We're good.

Wait till you see what I've got for you.

Shall we just take it inside? Just don't say anything.

Do you want to just tip it straight in my skip?

It's not that bad!

It's not a little gem, is it?

It's a big something, not a gem.

Anthony really isn't sold on it

but I'm sure that Sarah can talk him round.

It has potential.

In?

I've got a really good idea for it.

OK. Just bear with me on this and see if you think it will work.

How about...

..cut it in half, stretch it out

and make a fantastic Georgian sofa out of it?

Brilliant. Let's do it.

Really? Is that possible?

It's not just quite as simple as cutting it in the middle.

What would the process be?

Well, do away with everything between this gap.

So, by chopping the chair in half,

retaining the Georgian-style sides and building a new middle section,

the small seat will become a large couch.

I like the stretch part of it, I have to say.

That sounds fun.

Like... Not just little but big, stretch big.

OK, big would be great.

Maybe a couple of new legs in the middle, you know, five-person.

Something that goes in the hallway of a Georgian stately home.

That kind of...

With a modern-ish look.

OK. I can see you're buying in already.

A little bit of enthusiasm for it.

-You can do it.

-It's coming.

I am almost overwhelmed with the enthusiasm,

but how do they intend to cover this monster of a sofa?

Colour-wise, I don't know,

it's either beautiful light linen or it's very dark.

I would go dark.

Yeah, dark velvet.

But then, you know, maybe we should just have a nice chic fabric on it.

-Country cottage sofa.

-No.

A five-seater sofa in dark velvet sounds expensive.

Is it, Anthony?

It's going to hit just under a grand, realistically,

but then it's going to be a whopper.

I mean, it might even take a few people to carry this bad boy out.

It really is going to be a substantial-sized chair.

I'm happy to leave it like that.

I can't wait to see it.

Sarah seems happy her radical idea is underway.

Well, I think that is an excellent plan for that old chair

and between us, I think we're going to create something

that looks absolutely amazing.

But at a shade under £1,000, that budget is quite punchy.

It better look fabulous.

It's never just simple. It's never like,

"Oh, Anthony, I've got this perfect chair for you.

"It's nice and light, just a bit of fabric on it, please,

"and we won't argue about the budget.

"Everything is good, do me proud, I'll come back for it not tomorrow -

"I'll give you at least a week or two to do it."

Rant over.

Glad you got that off your chest.

Anthony is working with a budget in the region of £1,000 to turn

this seat into a stretched-out sofa.

Will this job test the limits of even his skills?

With both the block of solid oak and the Georgian-style chair

in good hands, it's Sarah's turn to take on the jumble sale cast-offs.

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

"Fred in rear.

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

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

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

looked like and who Mum was,

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

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

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

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

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

No way. Look.

Can you see them?

Can you see the one in the middle?

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

This is British Art Deco silver frame.

That is a little gem in this bundle.

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

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

We are looking at a frame probably 100 years old

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

Great spot, Sarah.

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

geometric patterns similar to the patterns found on banknotes.

That is looking a lot better.

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

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

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

I'll put the surround back into it

and the back on it and then probably have a look

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

and what they're selling for.

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

attempting to maximise profits from her haul.

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

to prepare the remaining frames.

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

Yeah. No, look at the bottom.

Not annoying or anything!

Now, what about that solid silver frame?

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

There's one.

"Art Deco sterling silver engine-turned frame."

Do you know something? They are expensive.

Look, even this one, £275.

I really like you.

These frames have cost Sarah nothing so far,

but can that silver frame live up to its potential worth

when Sarah tries to sell it?

In Manchester, Anthony is about to start work

on the Georgian-style chair,

and today he is assisted by fellow master upholsterer Dennis.

Dennis, to cut a long story short,

has been an upholsterer for many, many, many years.

Dennis has been in the business an incredible 70 years, to be exact,

so Anthony is really bringing out the big guns on this project.

It's going to be a bit of a two-man job.

-Right, do you want to crack on, then?

-Yes.

Crikey, Dennis, you're keen.

The plan - we're going to cut this open and then we should start to see

the wooden frame, and then we're going to simply take a saw

and chop half of this off and hopefully glue it,

screw it, dowel it, drill it into a sofa.

Let me know if you find any money.

-We'll share it.

-We'll share it.

We'll buy some biscuits for teatime.

Hurray!

Hurray!

I declare this chair...

open!

How big are we planning to make this, then?

Well, Sarah is expecting a large five-seater.

Something similar, like that.

What I was thinking was more like...

LAUGHTER

You're going a bit too far now. It's too long.

With the size of families nowadays, and the size of TVs,

you know, you'll probably want a big sofa.

Anthony has gone a bit off-piste in the past and it looks like he's

thinking of deviating from the agreed plan with Sarah.

Not sure how she'll feel about that.

That's not going to be far off 40 inches at that.

Oh, and they still need to build the thing.

We'll have a cup of tea first, yeah?

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 Manchester, there's been a small change of plan

at Anthony's place.

Originally we talked about doing it in an indigo, deep-blue colour

but now we chose this kind of tulip-y colour.

But I'm not sure it's going to be one of Sarah's favourite colours,

I've been told.

Brave man, Anthony.

Also, that sofa looks a lot smaller than the five-seater

you promised Sarah. How big is it?

We cut it in half and then we've now rebuilt it all.

So we've kind of gone for...

I think it's just under 54-inches wide in total.

There was no scientific way of doing this.

We basically clamped a bit of wood down and we stepped back and went...

Then we had a position - can two people get on there?

That's it, that's how we did it.

And it's basically a chair but just wider.

Yeah, but that's very different from a large sofa.

It's all about the sound, getting the right tension.

So, we're going to put another... Probably half a dozen this side,

another half a dozen that side

and then we're going to weave them across...

I can't stop twanging!

Weave them across in opposites.

Individually they are quite weak but collectively,

when they're all woven, they become nice and strong.

-TWANG

-Oh!

The one pressure that we are under is to just make sure we get it

finished in time for Her Ladyship arriving.

But it's so addictive!

HE TWANGS THE CHAIR

It's the wrong size, the wrong colour and potentially unfinished,

but at least you'll be able to play Sarah a tune, Anthony.

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

and others from local artisans.

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

I think they're absolutely beautiful.

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

-Really?

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

-Delighted with them. Thank you.

-Oh, lovely, excellent.

Come with me to the till.

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

they'll be going straight online.

Sarah is now concentrating on getting the best price

for her star item, the solid silver frame.

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

home to antiques exports, Ian Towning.

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

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

-OK.

If that is in good condition,

there's a chance we can do something with it

because they're beautiful pieces.

With the silver being undamaged and Ian recognising the potential,

he was keen to make Sarah on offer.

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

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

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

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

You'll take my offer.

While at the dump in Witley,

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

People do bring in bits and pieces.

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

Is that what we're saying?

He was raising money for his animal sanctuary

and these frames didn't make the cut.

-Lovely to meet you today.

-And you.

-Thanks ever so much. Goodbye.

After some TLC,

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

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

Sarah has now returned to Witley to show Graham what became

of his jumble junk and to hand over the cash.

-Hi, Graham.

-Hello, Sarah.

-Lovely to see you again.

-And you.

-It looks like you're busy.

How many of these people have you got round here?

Don't ask me to count.

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

-before a sale, is that right?

-Just a bit, yeah.

-And how did the sale go?

-Very well. Very well indeed.

Now, the stuff that I took from you,

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

-That's right.

So I took the frames and used some old wallpaper.

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

-That's amazing.

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

It was an Art Deco silver frame.

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

and he made me a really good offer on it.

So I did accept the offer

and there is some money for you, actually.

-Brilliant.

-There is...

..£4 here...

-Oh, excellent!

-And £200 there.

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

You're joking!

Oh, my God! That is amazing.

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

There was no cost incurred sprucing up the old frames.

Sarah made £10 from the barn sale,

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

from selling seven of the more simple frames online.

That's £204 profit.

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

fuzzy feeling handing over money for nothing.

Buoyed by the success of the sale of the frames,

Sarah is back at the workshop of Bex and Dave

to see the fruits of their hard 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 made 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.

In Manchester, Anthony has been in a race against time to complete

the Georgian-style chair he was tasked with converting into a modern

five-seater sofa.

So, Sarah is on her way and we're done,

with moments to spare.

Obviously, at the start we were talking big ideas and big sofas.

We still have a big idea and now we've just got a smaller sofa.

Well, I left Anthony with a lovely sturdy old chair.

I know he's going to turn it into something big, but to make money

it's going to have to be beautiful.

The chair started out as a tired single seat with good bones

and burst upholstery.

Anthony has reimagined it as a stunning two-seater

that could certainly stop traffic.

The new seat has been built from scratch

and covered in a tulip pink velvet with hand finishings.

The couch also boasts a deep button detail across the back.

It's nice, but Sarah is expecting something quite a bit bigger.

This could be interesting.

Oh, my word!

Is that our chair?

-Yes.

-I think it's a thing of beauty.

-Good.

-I think that it's a striking transformation.

It looks better than that chair that was dropped off, by so much,

-doesn't it?

-Yes.

Phew! That went quite well, really.

Still, there's a bit of explaining to do, Anthony.

I thought it was going to be like a stretch limousine.

-I know!

-What happened? It's a bit more compact.

We had to make it sellable and this is a good sellable size.

If we got all daft and started making it, you know,

16-foot long then... it wouldn't fit in my house.

That's probably a fair comment.

I don't want to say you're right too much but...

-Keep going, keep going.

-I think you might have been right on this one.

Sarah is won over despite its reduced proportions.

I am slightly worried that I left nearly £1,000 on this.

Is that what that cost? Is there any leeway on that?

By the time we bought all the fabric and we paid for all the pizza

that we had to eat during the making of it...

Yeah, I mean, it's not cheap, pizza, you know?

-Or velvet.

-Or the velvet, to be honest.

So you're telling me that the budget's gone.

The budget's gone.

I think you've done well. If you can get it wrapped up for me,

I'm going to get that taken away, whisked off to some boutique

somewhere probably near here, and say thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

She brought a tatty old chair, we chopped it up, we made into a sofa.

She can sell it, she can make money and give it back to the peeps.

It's not quite as big as I expected but I think it is quite beautiful.

But I'm worried I might have my work cut out

if I'm going to make a really big profit on it.

But as a transformation, that's a fantastic piece.

When Sarah met John at the tip in Witley,

he was just about to chuck out his chintz.

We were going to get it refurbished but then we decided just to dump it.

The chair badly needed an overhaul.

It is tricky, isn't it?

-Because it's quite a lot of money to get them reupholstered.

-It is.

But that suited Sarah down to a tee.

Are you a golfing man? Is that yours?

-That's mine.

-After a lot of hard work,

that humble armchair has become a glamorous hot pink two-seater sofa.

It didn't take long before this distinctive piece

was catching the eye of Augustus Brandt Antiques in Petworth,

who promptly snapped it up.

Sarah has now returned to Witley to show John what became

of his old chair, but will there be a profit to hand over too?

-Hi, there.

-Hello.

-Nice to see you again.

-Nice to see you again.

-How are you?

-I'm good, I'm good.

I took your chair from the tip. Is this where it came from?

Yeah, it was in the main room.

We used it quite a lot and then the arms went.

So there's good news and bad news.

Because it was so sturdy, it actually got cut in half.

You cut it in half?

Do you want to see what we did with it?

Yeah. Brace. OK.

Here is your chair in its new incarnation.

I never imagined for a second that...

You know, I thought they would recover it and it would look

something like we had before, but you would never have known

by looking at that it was the same chair.

Well, there was a reason why we did that to it,

because as a chair has a process to recovering it,

it is an investment to have a piece recovered,

and what we wanted to do was try and stretch it a bit

and hopefully get some more money for it, and so we sold it at a profit.

I have got £215 here...

..for your old chair.

-Thanks very much.

-Absolute pleasure.

I am now not taking things to the dump.

I'm now thinking, where can I take them to get them fixed?

So, it's £215.

What are you going to do with that?

Well, I'd like to think I'm going to get more golf lessons but my wife

will probably say she's going to have it for the house.

Oh, really? Well, something towards a new chair, maybe.

Something towards a new chair.

-Thank you ever so much.

-OK.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

The original budget Anthony quoted for the work was in the region of

£1,000 and he managed to do it for £985.

The fuchsia pink sofa sold for 1,200, which left Sarah

with a profit of £215 to return to John.

Well, I don't think John was expecting that,

but frankly I don't think any of us were,

because it was a stretch of the imagination.

£215 of profit handed over

and although John might not be getting golf lessons,

I think he's definitely going to be in his wife's good books.

Sarah salvaged three unwanted items from the Witley Recycling Centre.

The chunk of oak was turned into a classy industrial coffee table,

the tired old Georgian-style chair is now a magenta marvel,

and the collection of old frames with a silver hidden gem.

Who knew that a few bits of old rubbish could generate so much enthusiasm,

creativity and hard cash?