Episode 18 Money for Nothing

That's not going in there, is it?

How do you make money for nothing?

Oh! That's got lovely legs.

The answer could be hiding in over 20 million tonnes of household waste,

thrown out by us every year.

-I'm now going to swan off.

-OK!

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

before they hit the skip.

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

and I've turned that passion into a money-making 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...

Let's brainstorm a little bit and see what we can do with it.

It is absolutely gorgeous.

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

-I'm kind of speechless.

-..valuable...

That looks amazing!

..and hopefully saleable items.

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.

Lovely. A lovely ending.

Welcome to Woking.

Woking Community Recycling Centre, to be precise.

Here, Sarah is starting her search.

What will Woking turn up today?

There's lots of potential here.

-Looks like it's going to be fun.

-But it's not all fun and games.

Sarah needs to uncover three items with money-making potential.

How busy is it here?

If you're thinking of giving this a go, you won't get far.

Sarah has special permission to plunder from the public.

Now that looks good.

Looks like she's got her sights set on what Trevor's got in his boot.

-Morning.

-Good morning, how are you?

Well, I'm better now.

-What is that?

-Well, I've just been building an oak pergola.

It's air-dried oak.

-Right.

-It's 30 years old and I've got this left over.

It's not much. It weighs a tonne.

-Absolute tonne.

-It's such a great chunk.

-Do you think it's English oak?

-Oh, definitely English oak, yep.

English oak all the way from Norfolk.

Would it be OK that I have it rather than go into the re-use bit?

Absolutely. I'd prefer you to have it. It's such a waste to throw it away.

Well, I'm so pleased that I was here to head it off from the re-use bit.

I will definitely try and make something out of this,

and then come and find you and show you what I've done.

That's perfect, yeah, I'd love it.

I'm going to lean that back there and go and get a trolley.

And say, "Thank you so much, and I'll keep in touch."

-Yep.

-Let me go and get something.

-Thanks ever so much.

-OK. You're welcome.

It's not everyday you see a bit of oak that size turning up at the tip.

But Trevor's happy to let it go.

I'm very glad she's taken it away.

I'm amazed that she can find something useful to do with it.

So, if she can do something with it, then, brilliant.

I'd love to know what comes of it.

So much potential here with these lovely big chunks of oak.

You can turn it, you can cut it, you can make furniture out of it.

But you can't let it go into the wood skip.

So pleased to find it.

When Sarah's got lumber like this there's two lads to turn to.

Meet Josh and Oli, designers, wood experts and best buds.

These boys think outside the box.

And the results are always interesting.

So I'm Josh and this is Oli.

We work well together because we've both got interesting ideas.

When Sarah turns up with whatever she's managed to find at the tip,

it's like problem-solving.

You're faced with a problem and you've got to then turn that into a product.

And it's really good.

It's difficult and challenging but it's a good process, isn't it?

Yeah, makes us think of new ideas

that we wouldn't have otherwise thought of.

Time to get your thinking caps on again, gentlemen.

Because the possibilities are endless.

One item down, two to go.

And the search is on for tip treasures with that

little extra bit of sparkle.

Good grief.

I hope your kids aren't watching this.

Perhaps you can boogie on over and see what Brian's chucking out.

-Oh, hello, do you need a hand?

-Yes, please.

Throwing out the whole 3-piece suite, are you?

Yes, we are. It's done valiant service.

Let me have a look at that.

-So, how long have you had them?

-Three generations of dogs.

Three generations... That's a really sweet way of putting it.

So, 20 plus years, then?

-Yes.

-Well, I think it looks quite exciting.

What have you got in here? Two chairs?

Two armchairs and a settee and all the cushions.

-They look like they'll be really comfortable.

-They are fabulous chairs.

I mean, in daylight,

I'm ashamed of them, but in the house they were just so comfortable.

Is this something, that rather than you throwing it away, I can take

away and try and refurbish or give a new lease of life to?

I would love it to have a new lease of life.

It's been a fabulous suite to us.

Well, it would be great to come and show you what I manage to do with

-it, if that would be OK.

-Yes, that would be lovely.

Great. I'll come and see your new ones, see how they compare.

-You're welcome, Sarah.

-What a find!

Sarah's bagged herself a 3-piece suite.

What does Brian think will happen to it?

It's got lots of life left in it. The springs are fine.

The cushions, the arms are fine.

It's just the covering is worn and dirty.

Well, there are three pieces here and I think they're sweet.

I love this classic English styling.

Their cottage charm.

But there is a heap of work to be done to this if we're going to turn a profit.

With a heap of work, you'll need a heap of help.

The Bristol Upholstery Collective

is a maker's space that welcomes all with

a shared passion for upholstery.

It was founded by Leigh-Anne Treadwell and together with her

group of gifted girls,

when they put their heads together there's nothing they can't achieve.

I love doing upholstery.

It led me to create the Bristol Upholstery Collective

just so that we could create a real magical space.

It means that people can really play with their skills and really take it

to the next level.

My favourite sort of project is actually one that involves collaboration.

We pull in all these different knowledge areas and resources and

together we can bounce ideas and create really incredible stuff.

Well, Leigh-Anne, you'd better get your team at the ready

because Sarah is bringing a busload.

Sarah is back on the lookout for one final item she can work on.

How exciting. Come with me.

It looks like she's spotted something good in Stuart's car.

Really, in that load of junk?

Oh, well, no harm in looking.

-Hello, there.

-Hello.

Stop throwing stuff away. I love the look of your rubbish.

-What are you up to?

-I'm throwing stuff away, yeah.

-Are you clearing out the house?

-We are clearing out a big house.

This is loft, garage, lounge,

and all sorts of bits from a sadly deceased relative, yeah.

Oh, no, I'm sorry to hear that. Your legs, what were they from?

-I don't know.

-They have got just enough about them to make something

-lovely out of.

-OK.

-Can you see it?

-I can.

Well, I'd like to know.

I love things like this because it only takes that amount of style to

make something that people think "Great, that looks '60s,"

and then it becomes desirable.

So, rather than chucking them away, can I have them?

-Course you can, yeah, with pleasure.

-You don't mind?

Not at all. I'd be delighted.

Brilliant. I'll take these and keep in contact.

-Very good.

-Thank you so much.

-All right. Bye.

There we have it. Four table legs without a table top.

Table must be the obvious choice to make.

What do you think, Stuart?

Well, I think it's nice that it might go to some use to someone and

if she can make something artistic or desirable then all the better.

Yeah, that would be cool.

I love these little legs.

They've got great colour. They've got style and they've got enough

about them. I'm really pleased to find them but sad to see

that one of the tops is missing.

That's not going to hold us back, though.

Sarah has her three items.

Josh and Oli have lots of options with that oak.

Leigh-Anne and the girls have a 3-piece suite to transform.

And Sarah will work wonders with those lovely legs.

I am so excited with the items I've collected but now it's time to turn

that excitement into profit.

In rural West Sussex, things are buzzing.

Sarah's brought along her chunks of old English oak to see what Josh and

Oli can bring to the table.

Looking forward to Sarah arriving.

Don't know what she's got but it's usually pretty cool,

so looking forward to it.

Well, it really doesn't get more solid than this.

Two fantastic chunks of English oak.

Where else to bring them but to Josh and Oli?

-Hello.

-Hello!

-Look what I've got for you.

-Wow. Shall we get it up on the bench?

So, there's two bits. This bit's the little bit but that's

-the big boy, there.

-Yeah, nice.

I'm hoping this really is the real deal and is a properly useful bit of timber.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I can imagine it will be.

A lot of decent wood in there.

I thought possibly that it could be planked.

I've got this kind of vision about really thin,

beautiful planks of this stuff, because it feels just so hard.

I was thinking it could be almost like ethereal little wafers of oak

made into maybe a table or something.

But I'm going to put you on the spot.

-What are we going to do with it?

-Well, it would be good to plank it

into thinner pieces but I'm not sure how thin we'd be able to go.

As soon as you cut that into a strip, it's just going to fall apart.

Falling apart doesn't sound very saleable, does it?

-Not really, not at the moment.

-I wonder whether we could make, like,

a sideboard and somehow

use this as the front.

Do some nice cladding on the front of it.

I'd love a sideboard.

Well, that's definitely something we've wanted to make for a while.

So, yeah, we can kind of

sort something out with the oak, I reckon.

Good stuff.

The boys are going to sort out a sideboard.

They'll use strips of the old oak to clad the front.

Let's talk money.

So can you put a ballpark figure on it?

Because it's a bit tricky not knowing how it's going to work out.

What do you reckon to, sort of, £600?

Somewhere around that mark.

With that kind of money, I'm sure we'll be turning a profit.

I can see this beautiful ethereal thing.

-Cool.

-Game on.

-Yeah.

Fantastic. See you soon.

See you in a bit.

Ethereal isn't the word that springs to mind when I look at that thing.

Well, that's one solid piece of oak off my hands

and into the dedicated hands of Josh and Oli.

It's a big chunk of oak and I'm hoping for a chunk of profit.

Yeah, I think it's OK, isn't it?

This is "oak-a".

JOSH LAUGHS

Yeah, this is the right upholstery...

OK... Stick to carpentry, boys.

It'll be £600 to create a sideboard from old splitty wood.

If they can pull it off, it will be truly bespoke.

Nailed it.

Next stop for Sarah, Bristol.

She's brought along the dated 3-piece suite to see if Leigh-Anne

and her team can come up with a plan.

Well, there's a whole heap of upholstery in there,

and on the basis that many hands make light work I've brought all

this lot down to Bristol to the Upholstery Collective.

A bit nervous because you never know what's going to turn up.

Who knows what she's found?

Come and see what I've got.

As well as Leigh-Anne, there's Ellen, Fleur, Dorota, Charlotte,

Harriet and Bea who all work here too.

Here you are. Have one of those.

Thank you.

There's another one there.

Oops! Careful with the paint work, Sarah.

To me, to you, left a bit, right bit.

I'm not helping, am I?

I've had loads of ideas about what we could do with this.

But I'm slightly worried about it because it feels a bit dated.

It's not vintage. It's not new.

And it's going to need a little bit of repositioning, I think,

if we're going to make any money out of it.

Do you know what? I think it would be really awesome to actually play

around with how we might be able to connect these two armchairs.

I'm not too sure about the sofa, though.

I think we could use elements of it and bring it in to create one item

out of these two.

So, will you go for a kind of chaise look rather than a sofa?

Great idea. Yeah.

That would be perfect.

They'll put the sofa to one side and concentrate on making a luxury

chaise longue from the two armchairs.

Luxury often comes at a cost.

Let's hear it.

I think that with materials and all of us chipping in and doing our

magic we can probably do it for about 900 to £1,000?

OK. I think, leaving around...

If you can get as close to 900 as possible, that would be great,

just to give a bit of margin for making some money on it.

I think that sounds fab. Thank you so much for all your help and

good luck with it. It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun.

-Thanks, Sarah.

-Thanks very much. See you soon. Bye.

-See you.

Well, that sounds so exciting.

So, many hands are going to make a chaise.

I just can't wait to see what they do with it.

Very excited about this one.

It's going to be a real challenge but I think it's really playful and

I think we can really do something quite wacky, a bit out there.

A bit different. Unexpected. And just make something really

luxurious for Sarah to make a profit.

It's a hefty £900 - £1,000 budget to create the luxury chaise longue.

I tell you, it will have to be luxury

to stand any chance of making a profit.

While our Bristol gals put their heads together to make a plan,

Sarah's back home in the Sussex countryside.

Here, she'll work with the four retro table legs.

OK, Bramble. You can help, too.

But we won't be playing fetch with them,

if that's what you're thinking.

Right, here's the plan.

I've got four legs here

but only three of them have got brass tips on them.

So I'm going to set one aside and just make a really simple

three-legged side table.

So I think the best thing to do is to sketch it out

and then just get to it.

It will be a simple saleable side table, smashing.

So, most side tables are round.

But I want mine to be a bit more interesting than that.

Sarah sketches her interesting shape on paper,

which will become the template to make the new wooden table top.

Looking interesting. Slightly irregular.

Like a big wonky 50p.

I think that's about right.

Three legs are also a lot easier to work with because they're self-levelling.

When you're onto four, you really need to be perfect.

All I need now is the wood.

Sarah wants this top to be as smart as possible

so she's taking it to her carpenter friend Paul.

-Hiya.

-Hi.

-I need a hand.

Right.

Paul has sourced some strong plywood.

He's cutting this into shape on the table saw.

Next, he clamps it in place

before bevelling the edges with a hand-held router.

With the wood cleaned and sanded,

Sarah moves on to painting the table top.

You won't believe what she has in mind.

Well, now it's all smooth I want to go for a really high-end finish.

So I'm going to put a single layer of white over the top

and then I'm hoping to transform this

into a high-end luxury marble top table.

It can't be that hard, can it?

It can if you don't have any marble.

Instead, Sarah is attempting a painted faux marble effect.

Let's call it farble.

I've never marbled anything before.

But I know that you can.

There's a special way of just blend and smudge paints together.

And apparently it looks just like the real thing.

Well, we'll be the judge of that.

After applying a white base coat,

Sarah's painting on thin lines to create a marble effect.

Looks a bit like veins in a stinky old cheese to me, though.

I've got some big smudges on here

and now I'm going for some smaller smudges.

A damp sponge can help blend the colours together.

Though Sarah's choosing to use her finger.

Well, I think I'm getting there.

I'm going to let it dry and maybe rub it back a little bit.

While the paint dries Sarah turns her attention to those retro legs.

So while I've been painting,

my carpenter friend Paul has made these for me.

Now, I couldn't fix these legs without having a really clever plan,

so he's made me some wedges and some little plates here.

She starts to attach the legs to the custom-made wedges.

Once the wedges are on the table top she'll be done.

So far, the total cost for paint, wood and Paul's labour

comes to £27.50.

Sarah's table top idea might, in fact, be genius.

Or she may have just lost her marbles.

Just a few miles down the road,

Josh and Oli are starting work on their new sideboard.

It will use planks of the air-dried oak as sliding doors.

The style's going to be a kind of low cabinet

which will have four doors on the front

and then we'll clad the doors in this nice characterful oak.

But, yeah, the main issue is going to be

cutting this big old chunk down,

so it's usable.

I think with all the cracks in that thing you'll be lucky

to get anything usable.

Before the boys tackle the oak,

Josh makes a start on the brand-new sideboard base.

So this is our sheet of birch ply.

This is going to form the carcass of our sideboard.

I'm going to cut the joints at 45 degrees.

If you imagine, like, a picture frame,

you cut both sides at 45 degrees and then obviously they meet

and make 90 degrees, and it's just a really tidy way of doing it.

To make his 45 degrees angle cuts, Josh is using a table saw.

But this ain't no ordinary table saw.

This machine can tilt the blade to whatever angle is desired.

Very cool.

This technology creates a more accurate join.

Oli, on the other hand, likes doing things the old-fashioned way.

Well, we've decided we want to do some nice little turned feet

for the sideboard,

so I've just made myself a nice little template

and that will just help me to get them all the same.

Oli is shaping the new feet in a wood turning lathe.

Lathes date back to around 1300 BC.

Early ones were the inspiration for machine tools.

I've got it to the shape that I want

but it's a bit rough at the moment

so I'm just going to give it a bit of sanding.

To make the feet identical,

Oli could have used a duplicating lathe,

which creates carbon copies of a standard pattern.

Looks good now.

But when you're as skilled as Oli, that's not necessary.

Josh has finished cutting his wood.

Let's see if it all fits together.

There needs to be a precise 90 degree angle.

Perfect.

The beauty of these is that you only really have this tiny little

join line down the corner there,

so the grain just kind of wraps around the side.

We're going to fit in some nice sliding doors into here

and that's where we'll mount the oak.

Talking of the oak, the boys have come up with a new plan -

how to cut it into planks without it splitting into bits.

So, after a while of having a look this beam,

we've decided the best option is going to be

to take it to a local timber yard and get them to cut it into

nice slices for us.

We're just thinking it's going to be the safest and the best solution,

to get a professional to do it.

Quite right, Oli. When it comes to cutting a monster chunk like that,

it's all down to whoever has the biggest saw.

And five minutes down the road,

brothers Adam and Paul have a whopper.

But will the cracked wood crumble under the pressure?

-Lovely job.

-Well done, lads.

With just about enough planks to build the doors,

Oli goes back to making the remaining feet.

While Josh...

CLATTERING

..breaks one of the planks in half.

-Have you broken one?

-Yep.

Sarah arrived and brought us a load of rubbishy wood, didn't she?

Just one little drop and it's smashed to pieces.

It's just not grown like it used to, is it?

This might be a problem.

Even if they stick this plank back together, it doesn't bode well.

The others could end up just like this, too.

Back we go to Bristol now,

where Leigh-Anne and the gang are hard at work.

Do you girls want to do some webbing?

They've stripped the two armchairs down

to their bare frames and joined them

together to make one massive chair.

-Do you want me to get you started and then you can keep going?

-Yeah.

The original idea was to make a big cosy chaise longue,

but this looks more like a...

help me out, Leigh-Anne.

It's a bit of a play on the tub chair

and a love seat and we're calling it the lovetub.

And it actually looks a bit like a roll top bath right now.

Right, that's it then, it's a lovetub.

The brief was to try and join these two armchairs together,

so we've actually attached them face-to-face.

What we'll be doing is,

originally the sprung units were obviously facing this way,

now what we're going to do is we've taken them off

and we're going to bring them front to back.

Every member of the collective is an equal and they each use

this space independently for their own work.

But when a big project comes in like this one,

they like to collaborate.

Today, the girls have split into teams.

How is it going here?

Harriet and her helpers are designing

a brand-new fabric to cover parts of the new sofa.

While Leigh-Anne and Ellen try to reattach the spring units...

but it's tricky.

They ping up. It's going to be a couple of people working on this

to actually get them attached to the frames nice and sturdy

so they don't pop.

These chairs were built using serpentine or zigzag springs.

Why did we pick this bit?

I don't know!

Made from steel wire, these form into a continuous S-shape.

This allows for an even distribution of weight.

-My hands are killing!

-SHE LAUGHS

They're regarded as a step up from traditional coil springs.

Oh!

But they can be a bother to fit.

SHE LAUGHS

We'd prefer to be doing this than springs.

At Team Harriet, they've been busy designing leaf patterns.

They plan to print this on the hessian

to create their own bespoke fabric.

We're going to try and do something a bit different

and do some screen printing techniques,

so we can really make a unique design.

So we've painstakingly cut out all of these shapes from the waxed paper

and now we're just going to put the screen on top.

Screen printing is a form of stencilling

practised for over a thousand years.

It works by using a blade or squeegee to force paint

through a fine mesh onto a printing surface.

Harriet wants the shapes cut out of wax paper,

to create a crisp, bold, colourful pattern onto the hessian underneath.

Come on, Harriet, don't keep us in suspense.

Not bad for a first go.

As Harriet gives it another go...

That way, that's it.

Yeah, that's good.

..Leigh-Anne's discovered there's a problem

with the size of the new sofa.

We can't get it out the door.

We've built it too big.

-We're just testing...

-We reckon we've got about three inches.

..to see if once we've made it we can actually get it out of here to sell it.

Oh, dear.

Once the legs and padding are on there's no way Sarah's going

to be able to get it out of the workshop in one piece.

Next plan.

It's down tools all round

while Leigh-Anne thinks of a way to save the day.

It's back to the drawing board for Leigh-Anne and the girls,

but in Sussex, Sarah's nearly done with her faux marble-topped table.

Well, they're only little legs but I really think I've done the

right thing by them.

You know, fake marble top, gold trimmings.

Gold trimmings!

Ah, faux gold.

Sarah's really pushing the faux boat out on this one.

Without a top, those little legs had no use and no home.

But now...

..they're standing tall as a classy side table.

The painted marble effect is convincing,

even when you look at it close up.

Splashes of gold paint on the rim

along with the brass tips add an air of delightful decadence,

all contrasting with the jet-black painted legs.

Sarah proves yet again that you can create luxury on a budget.

This little table looks a million bucks.

Well, they say fake it till you make it,

and I've definitely made something here.

I'm hoping that this fake marble top does justice to those lovely legs,

because the moment I saw them, I thought they had style,

and I think there's a balance there between a bit of fun

on the top and some style on the bottom.

Somebody's going to give it a new home, aren't they?

Well, let's find out.

-Stop throwing stuff away.

-I love the look of your rubbish.

When Sarah met Stuart at the tip,

she wanted to rifle through his boot.

This is loft, garage, lounge.

We are clearing out a big house.

Sarah saw potential in the legs,

though Stuart needed some convincing.

-Can you see it?

-I can... Well, I'd like to know!

Sarah took them away to work on herself.

And if she can make something artistic or desirable

then all the better, yeah.

Well, Stuart, you wanted artistic

and that's exactly what you've got.

Sarah didn't have any bother selling it.

One-of-a-kind furniture studio in Gosport, South Hampshire,

bought it for their shop,

and owner Julie is blown away with the originality.

It's different, it's completely unique.

Three legs, nine sides, absolutely fabulous.

Sarah's in Knaphill in Woking

to show Stuart her fabulous faux furniture,

and to hand over a real profit.

-Hi, Stuart.

-Hello, Sarah.

-Nice to see you again.

-How are you?

-I'm really well. How are you?

-All right, thank you very much, yeah.

Lovely. Now, I saw you and you were helping clear out

your uncle's house.

-That's right.

-It was those little legs that I took away

that I was really interested in,

and they were something that I worked on.

-Right.

-So I had a good look at them and, well,

I've made something out of them. What do you think it is?

I am intrigued.

-Come on.

-It had to be a coffee table.

-Of some kind, yeah, OK.

-It did, it did.

So, I've got some pictures here to show you.

-Oh, right.

-What I did with them.

-Your legs have now been made into...

-Oh, wow!

-..a coffee table.

-Fantastic!

I had a lot of fun. I marbled the top, I just painted it.

-That looks brilliant.

-Really?

-Yeah!

-Is that all right?

Absolutely, yeah.

So it's actually been sold to a shop...

-OK.

-..who deals in vintage stuff.

-OK.

-And I've got some profit here for you.

-Oh!

I've got a few coins, actually, and a couple of notes to go with it.

-Wow!

-I've got £67.50 here... No!

..for your lovely legs.

Oh, fantastic!

Terrific! Well done!

So, I'm going to ask, what might you do with £67.50?

Well, that will go to the local Sam Beare and Woking Hospice,

which is where my uncle was being looked after,

and as they were his legs,

then I think that's probably a good place for them to go, don't you?

I think that's an absolutely lovely place for that to go

and I'm so pleased. I've really enjoyed making it

and if it's going to there then that's...

-Good job.

-Thank you ever so much. Lovely to catch up.

-Fantastic.

-Thanks, Stuart.

-Thank you.

-OK, bye.

-See you.

The costs for paint,

plywood and for the labour of Sarah's friend Paul is £27.50.

Sarah sold the table for an impressive £95,

giving Stuart £67.50

to donate to the hospice that cared for his uncle.

Sarah's proved she can produce something saleable.

Now it's time to pop in on Josh and Oli

to see if they've made something out of that crumbling oak.

It was quite an exciting little project, so, yeah.

I think maybe it's a bit different

and she won't really be expecting it,

so, yeah, but we're really happy.

Well, the weather might not be bright but there is never dull moment

around here cos Josh and Oli are going to show me what they've done with that huge oak beam.

I'm hoping it's a lovely sideboard.

Before, this old oak was a blank canvas.

Now...

..it's a work of art.

Josh and Oli have created a stunning '70s-inspired sideboard,

contrasting the sleek, crisp Birchwood base

with the aged oak doors.

And it's bursting with character.

Josh's clean, modern frame and Oli's handmade,

retro feet create a timeless look.

The doors slide open to reveal shelving,

making this sideboard suitable for the dining room,

living room or even the bedroom.

It's big, functional and fabulous.

What will Sarah make of it?

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Ooh, how's it looking?

-Yeah, good.

Yeah? Well done.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

It looks so stylish.

It's really strong.

It looks rustic and crisp

and everything that it needs to be at the moment, don't you think?

-Yeah.

-So did that oak beam, did it lend itself to it?

Was it all right for making?

Mm, I mean, even though there was a lot of oak,

we only just had enough to clad the doors.

-Right.

-So yeah, it wasn't very usable.

Can I get in there? How does it open?

Yeah. So, they just slide, so...

It looks very good.

I know that there are so many people wanting that kind of cladding

and that natural wood look, so to put it all together like that,

it's fantastic, well done.

Budget-wise, did it test the budget?

We were in the £600 mark, weren't we?

I think we were probably all right budget-wise, yeah.

Yeah? You can go under, if you like!

No, we'll just call it, call it quits on that.

Nice try, Sarah.

-Thanks so much.

-You're welcome.

The boss walks away happy.

You must be chuffed with that, boys.

We're really chuffed, she's really chuffed.

-Dead chuffed with that.

-Dead chuffed!

Well, that's not a sideboard, is it,

that's a put it in the middle of the room, isn't it lovely,

look at it all the time board.

What a lovely piece of design

inspired by just an old piece of oak.

Morning.

The old oak once belonged to DIY fan Trevor.

I've just been building an oak pergola and I've got this left over.

Trevor knew a lot about it.

English oak wood all the way from Norfolk,

30 years old, air dried.

And he was happy for Sarah to save it from the skip.

If she can do something with it, then brilliant,

I'd love to know what comes of it.

Trevor, you won't be disappointed.

To sell the sideboard,

Sarah invited round Nicky from online interior shop Such & Such.

But is it a winner for her?

This is totally what we're looking for, yeah.

It's a really lovely piece and we'd really like to buy from you.

Fantastic news.

A deal was struck.

Sarah's in Addlestone in Surrey to tell Trevor

the good news and hand over the profit.

-Hi, Trevor.

-Hello, Sarah. How are you?

I'm really well. How are you doing?

-I'm good, yeah. Nice to see you again.

-Yeah, and you.

So, tell me, what, with that oak post, I had to carry it around,

-how heavy was that?

-Oh, it weighed a tonne, didn't it?

It was unbelievably heavy,

just 30-year-old oak... I mean, it was like rock.

I took it to some guys called Josh and Oli.

Any ideas what they might have made out of it?

Absolutely none but really excited to see what they can do.

I've got some pictures here to show you.

-Oh, I can't wait, let's have a look.

-Well, I'm quite excited.

-See what you think.

-No!

-A sideboard?

-Yeah.

No way! So they've sliced it?

They've literally taken off all those outside bits

that had all the wear on it.

I had no idea someone could do something as amazing as that with

-a piece of oak.

-So, do you approve?

-Absolutely.

It's been bought by an online retailer.

I've got some profit for you.

I've got 50 quid here, which was profit

after we paid for it to be made,

-so that's for you.

-Right, thank you very much.

That's amazing for something that was going to be just thrown away.

Have you got a £50 hole somewhere that you...?

Oh, I've got lots of £50 holes!

Anywhere specifically that that might go?

My son's at university so maybe put it towards one of his costs.

Your oak was really inspiring. It was a great project for us,

-so thanks so much.

-Brilliant. You're more than welcome.

I shall tell the boys that you approve of their re-use.

-Absolutely, 100%.

-Thanks so much. Nice to catch up.

-Thank you, Sarah.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

Josh and Oli came in on budget at £600.

Sarah sold the sideboard for £650,

giving Trevor £50 to put towards his son's university costs.

With two items off to pastures new,

Sarah is back in Bristol,

but not to Leigh-Anne and the team's usual workshop.

They managed to get their creation out the front door,

but did that mean a compromise on design?

We encountered a slight problem.

Our design meant that the size of the frame

wouldn't fit out of our studio door.

So we've actually moved studios for a couple of weeks just

so we can get this made in the size that we want it.

Well, I've come a long way west to find out

if the collaborative talents of some of Bristol's best upholsterers

have managed to do anything with that three-piece suite.

And there's a new location, too.

Very exciting.

It certainly is.

When found, this furniture was all out of love.

But now, I can introduce you to...

..the lovetub.

Leigh-Anne and the gang have created a cosy three-seater sofa

that is unique.

From the one-of-a-kind design to the handmade bespoke fabric,

this comfy colossus makes you want to take your shoes off

and jump right in.

The whole thing has been upholstered in a bold and beautiful

turquoise wool that makes it eye-catching.

I love the lovetub, but will it make a splash with Sarah?

-Hello.

-SHE GASPS

Oh, wow!

That is... It's given me goose bumps!

That is fantastic.

It's unbelievable, it's unrecognisable.

I'm just getting the merest hint of those old chairs on the ends of it.

Stunning, it looks like a sleigh. It looks beautiful.

So we attached the two armchairs,

the winged armchairs face-to-face,

and we removed the front arms and continued the wings down.

-And have you printed it?

-This has been screen printed, yeah.

So we've got original fabric, unique piece.

Is that something to do with it, lovetub, is that what it's called?

Yeah. So because of the play on the love seat

and then also it being very tub-like in shape,

we were #lovetub, this is what we've created.

I can't imagine this was a cheap make because it looks so luxurious.

Where did you end up on budget?

So, the price is at the higher end of the scale, so it is £1,000,

but it's definitely got some value to it.

I think it's genuinely beautiful.

It's so unusual, and to create unique pieces these days,

it's really difficult, everybody's done it before, and I've never seen

anything like this, so congratulations to all of you.

I think it's a really inspiring piece of design.

Well done, ladies.

Sarah is over the moon.

And look, you're all getting high-fives as well.

Good job.

I'm going to miss the lovetub, it's been a lot of fun,

but I'm excited to see what comes next.

What a fantastic piece.

I have massive respect for everybody who worked on it.

Now I've just got to go and sell it.

#lovetub.

-Oh, hello, do you need a hand?

-Yes, please.

When Sarah came to Brian's rescue at the tip,

she was after his three-piece suite.

-So how long have you had them?

-Three generations of dogs.

Three generations... Oh, that's a really sweet way of putting it!

Even Brian was shocked by the state of the covers.

In daylight, I'm ashamed of them,

but in the house they were just so comfortable.

But Sarah saw the potential - so did Brian.

It's got lots of life left in it.

You don't know the half of it, Brian.

After Leigh-Anne and her friends worked their magic,

it was filled with life, love and luxury.

Sarah immediately got to work,

but selling a big-ticket item is no mean feat.

She uploaded pictures of the lovetub

onto various social media platforms and hoped for the best.

Sarah's travelled to Woking in Surrey

to catch up with Brian and show him the transformation.

-Hi, Brian.

-Oh, hello, Sarah.

Lovely to see you again. How are you?

Very well, thank you.

So, how's the new three-piece suite?

It's settling in, thank you, and we're getting used to it.

Well, I thought your old one was very stylish,

and I know it was something that you were reluctant to get rid of.

So, did you think about what might happen to it in its new life?

We were just thrilled that it wasn't going to end up in landfill.

So, I set the sofa side

and took the two armchairs down to Bristol

and there is a fantastic collective of women upholsterers down there

who all work together, they collaborate.

So, I've got some pictures here to show you.

They now look like that.

Wow.

So, what happened was the girls decided to join them together

-to make this huge sofa.

-Amazing.

-What do you think?

-It's amazing.

-Do you like it?

-Yes, I mean, the imagination that's gone into that

-is really impressive.

-It was a big commission,

it cost £1,000 to have made,

and things like that when I have them made

take longer to sell, they're big ticket items,

so unfortunately I'm not standing here saying,

"I've got some money for you,"

but it is something that I'm sure will sell.

OK. Well, you know the money's not important, so it's...

We'll give it to charity anyway,

but I'm just thrilled that something that gave us so much pleasure

for so many years has got a new lease of life.

Thank you so much for letting us have it and catching up today,

and I'll be back in touch as soon as there's a profit for you.

-Thank you so much indeed.

-Thank you so much, bye-bye.

-Thank you, bye-bye.

Well, you can't win them all.

The Bristol girls' total cost for the lovetub was £1,000.

But without someone loving it just yet,

Sarah does face a potential loss.

Not to worry, the right person will fall head over heels

with it very soon,

and Sarah can be back in touch with Brian with the profit.

Sarah saved three items from the skip.

Things that had lost their purpose and lost their love

can now all be cherished again.

Well, I gave the Bristol girls and Josh and Oli

a really big challenge,

and boy did they deliver.

Rubbish revamped into beautiful bespoke items.

It doesn't get much better than that.