Episode 21 Money for Nothing

Clearing out the whole three-piece suite, are you?

How do you make money for nothing?

What have you been smashing up?

The answer could be hiding in over 20-million tonnes of

household waste thrown out by us every year.

Can I have them?

You're welcome to them, they're only going in the skip.

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 staff.

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...

I think we can really be quite playful with this.

I could make several mankinis out of this, couldn't I?

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

Oh, that's such a relief.

..valuable...

Oh, it looks all shiny.

..and hopefully saleable items.

I love them. You are a gem.

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.

I really can't believe that. That's amazing.

Today, Sarah is in Altrincham at the Woodhouse Lane Recycling Centre.

Here, a whole load of Greater Manchester's surplus gets sorted.

Look at that. That is a department store for rubbish.

A playground for junk.

A mass of opportunity lies just there.

In fact, I don't know what I'm doing here.

I'm off to see what I can find.

Sarah's looking to salvage three skip-bound items

into which she can breathe new life.

Come with me, let's go and find something. Come on.

It's really good fun, you should try it.

Not here though cos you get told off.

Sarah had a point.

She has special permission to rake the refuse in Altrincham,

so don't you dash down here hoping to do the same.

Two folks who have dashed down here with stuff to dump

are mum Wendy and daughter Rachel.

Is there loot lurking in their boot?

-Hello, hello.

-Hi.

Now what... What's a pair of nice girls like you

doing with that dirty chunk of metal?

-Erm...

-Are you helping? Shall I help you get it out?

-Yes.

-How did you get that in there then?

-Struggled.

No, it's not coming out.

Wendy and Rachel are turfing out an old water tank.

Come on, girls, give it some welly.

Oh, well done, mind your car.

Fantastic. Pop it down.

Pop it down on the floor, let's have a look at it.

So, who's is this?

-It's Rachel's really.

-Oh, really?

-Are you having some work done?

-Yes, we are. Yes. Yeah.

With this being like 50 years old,

it's not acceptable to have it in the house.

It's probably slightly past its best, isn't it?

-But you haven't been drinking out of that then?

-Yes.

-Have you?

-Yeah, yeah, it has.

-Yeah. That's why it had to go.

-Yeah.

I'm sure it's improved your immune system no end.

If it's all right to say please may I have it,

-if I can make something out of it.

-Of course.

Can I come and find you and show you what I've done?

Yes, you can. Brilliant.

Galvanised water tanks can be found in lofts of older houses.

They often supply cold water to all areas but the kitchen.

These days, they're plastic.

But these old tanks can be made into all kinds of things, so I'm told.

Any thoughts, Rachel and Wendy?

A table.

Pubs tend to go for all that stuff, don't they?

The old-fashioned stuff.

You know, but it will be interesting to see what she does out of it.

Well, this is beautiful, isn't it? Look, it's got rivets,

it's got rust, it's got old taps sticking out of it.

Well, I think it needs saving.

It's got a lovely look to it

because you can't recreate age like this.

I've got a big plan for this.

And I think you're going to love it in the end.

But currently not looking good.

I think you're going to need some help with this one, Sarah.

Just as well you know who to take it to.

Introducing Lorna and Clinton, the Junk Gypsies.

This pair are on board the eco-locomotive,

steaming down the tracks to a greener future.

Combining Lorna's upholstery skills and Clinton's design talents,

they deliver quality handmade furniture with that

steampunk feel that's very on trend.

Using salvaged material gives you an opportunity to not just be

cleaner and greener,

but it gives you a chance to preserve pieces of history.

We're like yin and yang.

Like, I love all the soft, fluffy, warm, clean side of it.

-Clinton...

-I just love the rust and the dirt and the grime.

But, actually, the collaboration of the two,

-that's what makes our small company work.

-Yeah.

-We work well together, don't we, love?

-We do.

It's difficult to see the soft, fluffy side,

but I think Clinton's going to be happy.

One item down, two more to find.

If people didn't know that Sarah was here today, they do now.

BELL RINGS

It wasn't me.

Now, if you hear that,

that means there's rubbish and we've got to go and find it. Ready?

BELL RINGS

Oh, all right, give it a rest, Sarah.

While my ears stop ringing,

why don't you see what Roy's got in his boot.

Oh, that's got lovely legs, hasn't it?

-Hello.

-Oh, hello there. Yeah, hi.

They're not bad.

Have you had those legs long?

Since I was a child. They were my parents'.

My parents bought this in Manchester a long, long time ago.

And it's just sort of followed them.

-And in the last 20-odd years, followed my wife and I around.

-OK.

But it's time for a change.

It looks like it had a lot of style.

I bet when this was first bought, it was pride of place, wasn't it?

Oh, I think so, it came with a little single wardrobe and it came

with a double wardrobe and it's got mirrors the go on the back of it.

Oh, really? Lovely.

-It does that and then two side mirrors that go with it.

-Yeah.

So I understand why you might think that's dated.

Just before you slide it in there, can I have it instead?

You're more than welcome to it.

Is it going to a good home?

It definitely would be going to a good home.

And if it would be all right,

I'd love to catch up with you and show you what happens to it.

I'd be delighted. No, no, no issue at all.

-Lovely.

-Yeah, that's nice.

I normally say, "Can I take this away now,"

but what would be really helpful is if you could help me.

I'd be delighted to.

-I think just off this way would be lovely.

-All right.

-The old things are always heavier than the new ones.

-Certainly are.

Roy's dressing table and mirror combo are a hit with Sarah

as she sees a future for them.

But does Roy have any ideas what could happen to them?

I haven't got a clue.

I hardly think she's going to paint it in green gloss paint

or something, but maybe she is. No, I don't know.

I know nothing about restoration,

I just know the way it was and what it was meant to be.

And what will be will be.

This is just the kind of piece of furniture that you see all

the time given a lovely new coat of chalk paint

and upcycled for somebody's bedroom.

I think we can make it more cutting-edge though.

It's got a good shape, it's got nice legs.

And some really useful mirrors,

so something must be able to be done with this.

And Sarah knows just the chap to take this on.

Master carpenter Norman Wilkinson.

Norman's skill and attention to detail

shines through in everything he makes.

And Sarah is never disappointed.

Oh, what Sarah brings, well, it gets a bit more diverse every time.

It tests you. It can be fun.

As long as the job comes out looking good, saleable and someone

loves it at the end of it, that's all the matters.

Norman brings with him over 25 years of experience

and is the definition of old school.

I'm not into this modern world and the modern sayings.

Upcycling is a new word, I mean, we create I suppose.

That's what we call it.

I'm one of the lucky people in life.

I get up in the morning, I look forward to coming to work.

So can't ask for any more than that, can I?

That enthusiasm might be dampened somewhat when Norman claps his eyes

on the old dressing table Sarah's saved for him.

With two items secured, Sarah needs to find one more.

One that she can transform at home.

That is what I'm after.

Not that.

Well, you might find something in the back of Robert's boot.

Oh, are they prints?

Not sure.

-Are these yours then?

-They are.

Have they been up in the sitting-room them?

Unfortunately, they've been hidden away in the attic.

So we're just clearing them out.

What do you think of them then?

-Are these your cup of tea?

-Not my cup of tea, no, myself.

But, you know, I can see them being hung on the wall in

-a nice house somewhere.

-OK.

What's that? Hold on.

Maleter.

"Paul Maleter is a young Hungarian artist

"living in Holland since 1958."

What's the reckoning, is Paul Maleter going to be...

I reckon he's just going to be...

-A good bet?

-Well, safe to say, yeah. A good bet.

I think there is something about them that means they

shouldn't go in there.

By all means, if you think there's something about them,

I'm happy, free to a good home.

I'll take them away and if I find out they're worth anything,

or people just snap them up, I'll be back in touch.

-Yeah, no worries.

-Thanks very much.

-Oh, you'll need that.

-Oh, yeah.

-That's provenance, you know.

-Yeah, that's traceability.

Provenance is a massive, massive thing in the art world.

But thank you so much for these.

-OK, no worries.

-OK, bye-bye.

-Bye now.

Provenance is just a fancy word

for the history of the ownership of a painting.

But it is important as it can help confirm the authenticity of

a work of art.

Can Robert see the same potential as Sarah?

I'm not surprised that somebody wanted them because there's

someone out there who will always want something.

But hopefully she can have them repaired,

touched up and cleaned, and find a good home for them.

Me too, Robert. As long as it's not mine.

They look to me like they are painted at the end of the '60s,

they've got cheeky street appeal.

They're kitsch.

But he was quite good at it, wasn't he?

Definitely something here.

That makes up our three items.

The water tank will go to Lorna and Clinton,

the dressing table will get the Norman treatment

and Sarah will try and muster up a masterpiece with the paintings.

Well, that lot didn't make the cut,

but the other finds have been fabulous.

Let's go and make some money.

For our first stop,

we're off to the village of Dodford in the outskirts of Bromsgrove.

Sarah's lugged along the rusty water tank

to see what Lorna and Clinton make of it.

I actually hope I can get my hands on some metal, some wood,

something really bulky that I can turn in to a bit of a showpiece.

-I'm praying for a chair.

-You want a chair?

-I want a really old chair.

-OK.

Uh-oh.

Well, I suppose you could sit on it.

If you had to.

Well, it's looking a bit decrepit, isn't it?

Look at all that rust coming out of it.

I'm hoping that Lorna and Clinton won't get put off when I show them.

I've got a few ideas,

so I think they might be able to make a little something out of this.

It's going to take a bit more than a really good PR job, if you ask me.

Come and see this, look.

I saw this and I thought of you.

Wow.

Is that the right thing?

Not a chair.

Definitely not a chair.

Actually, I've got some really good ideas for it.

I think might keep you both busy.

-Shall we get it inside?

-Fab. Let's go for it.

Another day I don't need to go to the gym.

Looks right at home, doesn't it?

-What is it?

-Lorna, you must love the interior.

Look at that beautiful build-up of rust in there.

-It's awesome.

-I wanted rust, I wanted metal. I'm semi-happy.

So you've got everything you wanted.

Don't worry, I mean,

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

I've seen them made into great coffee tables,

-people make cupboards out of them, put doors on the front.

-Yeah.

But I was wondering what would happen if we cut it in half.

Maybe make a coffee table and some sort of padded footstool

-ottoman thing out of it.

-OK.

-OK.

-Does that sound possible?

-Yeah, sounds good.

So what we're talking is maybe cutting it in half. Yeah.

I'll take the top portion,

I'll make that and focus on making a coffee table.

I'll leave this bottom portion to you

and then we can come together and then we'll see...

We'll see if it works.

Well, there's your plan.

Although Lorna isn't that convinced.

She has the task of making the bottom portion

of this rusty old tank into a footstool.

While Clinton makes the top half into a coffee table.

Now, how much will all that cost?

I'm thinking overall cost including materials and bits and bobs,

I'm thinking around...

265. Normally, I would say

they're about 50 quid if you wanted to buy one.

But because you've already brought it I probably say...about 265.

265 is fab.

You're creating two pieces of furniture.

We can either sell them as a pair, or sell them separately.

-So, if you're happy with that, I'm happy with that.

-I'm happy.

Yeah, I'm happy. I think for 265, if it does go to plan,

we can create two things which are going to be stunning.

Great, sounds like a good plan to me.

265 for two pieces of furniture.

-Go for it.

-Happy with that.

Yeah, yeah, fantastic.

-Hope it goes well and give me a shout when it's ready.

-OK.

-Nice to see you.

-Lovely to see you again.

-Nice to see you, good luck.

-Bye, see you soon.

Well, we always work really well together anyway,

so that's not really my worry.

My worry is if it doesn't go to plan, it's going to be a disaster.

Yeah.

-Yeah.

-It's just not a chair, is it?

It's just not a chair.

Well, that's such a relief because Lorna and Clinton loved all

that rust on the tank, didn't they?

Well, I think they're going to in the end.

So that is going to be two great projects,

hopefully combining to make one great result.

Lorna and Clinton for a budget of £265 are going to transform the old

galvanised water tank

into an upholstered footstool and coffee table.

I just hope they haven't bitten off more than they can chew.

Our next stop is Hellingly,

a beautiful village nestling in the East Sussex countryside.

Sarah's brought along the dainty dressing table to see if it

appeals to our Norman.

Well, I've got a sweet dressing table that really needs dressing up

because I'd love to turn this into a really elegant, feminine piece.

So I've brought it to Norman, obviously.

Well, Sarah's due today,

so it's going to be interesting what she brings.

Let's just see where we go.

Good morning, where are you?

Hi, Sarah.

-Look what I've got for you.

-Hello, you.

Oh, dear, another gem.

Let me put it down. It's got hidden depths.

Oh, it's got hidden treasures, has it?

-Well, there are some mirrors underneath it.

-OK.

Shall we put the mirrors on top? There's another...

There's this one and then there's a few more.

You know how to spoil me, don't you?

So in my wild dreams,

I was thinking perhaps we could use this mirror to clad the drawers.

Oh, right, yeah.

And I think that these bits, I was thinking how about creating

a beautiful mirror backed Venetian-style dressing table?

Oh, speechless.

It's not like you to be lost for words.

Fantastic.

I'm not convinced you mean that, Norman.

Sarah's vision is for the mirror to be cut into small pieces.

These are to be attached to the front of each drawer.

The look is to be similar to early 15th century Venetian furniture,

often covered in mirrors and made by the craftsmen of Murano.

The only thing is, we've got a curved drawer there,

so we going to have to make that...

We're going to have to cut that square.

We'll have to cut it off there so we get the nice flat level.

And then we'll take the moulding off and then we'll remould it.

Just make it dark, beautiful, dazzling.

-Dazzling handles.

-Dazzling handles.

Price for that, go on, hit me.

If we go for this look, with the mirrors and everything, erm...

We're going to be touching you on the £300 mark, 295.

You know.

I reckon for that, it's a good price.

I'll leave it to you. Go on, you know you want to.

-I really want to.

-You know you want to.

-Yes, OK.

-Bye.

We might start with the drawers and the mirrors.

See if I have a complete disaster with them.

I mean, we'll have to make a decision whether I cut it

or I take it and have it professionally done.

But, yeah, what could go wrong?

Well, how do you think that went?

I think Norman might have taken on the Venetian idea,

but I might come back and find he's just painted it.

Who knows?

Sarah's left Norman with a budget of £295

to create a classic Venetian masterpiece.

I can't wait to see this one.

In West Sussex, Sarah's back home with the two unusual oil paintings.

She's been reading up on the artist responsible for these creations,

so don't keep us in suspense.

Are they worth millions?

Well, I've done a little bit of research on these paintings.

Maleter was a prolific painter of

these kind of street urchin children back in the '50s.

There's one thing that is absolutely certain about these.

Loads of people will detest them.

I am worried that if I do these as a straight sell,

I might only get a car boot kind of price for them.

And what I'd really like to do is share the fantastic strong imagery

with all the people that love that kind of thing

and transfer it into fabric and make bags out of it.

The plan is to not only sell the paintings,

but to print the design onto fabric from which Sarah will make bags.

Sarah's taking high-quality digital images.

She will send these off to be printed.

I think I've got some great shots there.

I'm going to send them off and get some fabric printed.

And 48 hours after the picture taking,

Sarah's printed material arrives back.

That is just perfect.

I want these bags to look really strong,

I want them to look kitsch and vintage.

And I think this is just ticking all of those boxes.

Well, that's the easy bit. The fabric looks great.

All I've got to do is make a dozen tote bags out of it.

How hard can that be?

Tote means to carry by hand,

so tote bags kind of translate to handbags.

Which is strange

because you're more likely to sling them over your shoulder.

Well, there they are. 12 panels of each.

Perfect for turning into tote bags.

So it's a pretty simple process.

All I've got to do is put the panels right sides together, like that,

line them up nice and neatly and sew all the way around the outside.

But before I do that,

I think it'll be much easier to get the handles in place.

So I'm going to turn the little hem over the top and then

use some of this canvass fabric cut into strips to make some

really strong, sturdy handles.

Sarah's got to make 24 handles.

This could take some time.

I should probably be using lovely oatmeal-coloured thread.

But I'm going for pink.

Very nice.

It was just the one that was left in the machine.

Oh, and here's me thinking it was all part of the design.

Once the handles are sewn in place,

all that's left to do is to sew a lining on the inside.

Then the two sides can be sewn together.

I think that'll be just about all right.

It's strong enough.

It's going to be handy over the shoulder.

And I think it's going to look really unusual.

And that's in a good way.

Whatever you say, Sarah.

So far, Sarah's spent £60 on material and printing.

They certainly are unusual.

But will anyone want to buy them?

Back on board the upcycling locomotive are Lorna,

who's making a footstool,

and Clinton, who's creating a coffee table.

Both items from the old water tank that Sarah dropped off.

We started with the tank that Sarah brought.

We've measured and cut the two pieces that we're going to work on.

This is my favourite.

Like, working with rust, metal, rotten wood.

So, yeah, when Sarah brought me this rusty bucket,

Lorna weren't too impressed, but I actually really loved it.

If rusty buckets take your fancy,

then this one's right up your alley, Clinton.

But before tackling the rust, there's that tap to deal with.

Yes, that's the one.

Now, to remove all be loose rust.

Brute force in the shape of a mallet should do the trick.

As you can see, a lot of the surface type rust that was about to fall off

is dislodged, quite a lot of it.

It's hard to imagine at this point

when you're seeing all the rust and the dirt

that this will be a beautiful piece of furniture in someone's home.

That's where your vision comes in.

I'm glad Clinton has a vision,

as Lorna's struggling to see the finished footstool.

Clinton's cut me some wood for my top.

The dilemma is what fabric would look best to cover the top?

I've got some old coffee sacks.

Which I think are really cool.

Or, I were thinking like patchwork leather pieces.

I think leather.

I think I'm going to lean towards leather.

However, I like the simplicity of the hessian.

Because these items that we work with are so old,

they're not exactly square.

So if I order a square piece of glass and just measure it

across there, measure it across there, when you actually come

to put the piece of glass on, it's not going to look right.

It'll sit square if this is slightly out.

So the way I always combat that is simply going to use a piece of card.

You literally want to be the same size as the top of the lid.

Because it'll make it look super nice and refined.

It's a simple process of drawing round the edges

and cutting round the shape.

So, there's your template.

All you do now,

pop that in an envelope and send it off to the guy who makes my glass.

Back in the upholstery side,

Lorna's about to start cutting out the padding for the new cushion.

I'll basically measure this out with my wood.

But she still hasn't made a decision

about the fabric for the cover.

Which isn't a disaster because it looks like this project

is going to take a while.

I feel like I would be here for about a month with this.

Better let Sarah know not to rush back.

Hellingly in East Sussex is where Norman has his workshop.

He's about to bling up the old dressing table.

His challenge? To turn it into a mirrored Venetian beauty.

So, I'm going to strip it down.

Where we can see this has got a curved...

A curved drawer, we're actually going to have to

take the drawer front off and we're going to square it up.

And then we're going to square all these up.

Drill some holes and put some nice glass handles on it.

But I don't have a very good success rate with glass, or mirrors,

or whatever, I smash most of them and it costs me a fortune.

So I'm more likely going to take it down the glassworks that we

use and get them to do it.

And then if they smash it, then it's their fault, not mine.

The plan is to let somebody else

do the tricky bit of cutting the existing mirrors.

Norman will flatten the front and square the top,

ready to glue the mirrors onto the drawer fronts.

So, what's first?

First thing is we're going to take the drawers out.

We'll strip it all down,

strip it down to the basics and then we can start re-doing.

I'm just seeing if she left me any £50 notes under the paper,

but not my lucky day.

Yeah.

Well, there's no screws, so it's a case of hit and hope.

Hit and hope?

I don't like the sound of that.

Give it a tap first.

Oh.

I love smashing things apart. Love it. But this one's actually going...

I'm really pleased, this one's just pulling off lovely.

There's many a time when the glue sticks on,

you do that and the whole thing comes apart with you.

So someone likes me today.

Makes a change.

We always like you, Norman.

Anyway, so that's a bit of thin old veneered wood on it, so it was

obviously made the cheapest way they could at the time when they made it.

I've got the drawer fronts to sort out.

I got to try and get that...

Get that moulded edge off, so they've got to be nice and flat.

We have two chances, we can either replace the drawer front or...

I mean, I could cheat and run them through the saw and see where we go.

So I think I'll try cheating first.

All that's required to remove the moulding is to shave the

thinnest morsel from the front of each drawer.

I think we've got lady luck on our side.

Yeah, that one's looking great. We've lost the bevelled edge.

So I'll give that a light sand and then we can get the glass on it.

Mirror. Mirror, Mirror, mirror on the wall.

And, yeah, superb.

So far, so good.

But there's still lots to think about.

A paint finish, perhaps.

What will the glass handles look like?

Will there be enough mirror to cover the front?

I think we'll leave it to you, Norman.

Back in West Sussex, Sarah's at home putting the finishing touches

to the 12 kitsch tote shopping bags.

Well, it's been a bit of a process, but I think it's well worth it.

I mean, who else has got a tote bag

with an original oil painting on each side?

Definitely unique.

Really quite pleasing.

When Sarah saved the old paintings,

it's safe to say their appeal as works of art was limited.

But by taking those very same images,

she's broadened their appeal.

Making them into 12 TOTE-ally amazing bags.

The simple shape and design makes them suitable for all occasions

and the strong, hard-wearing linen she's chosen

will help these bags live on for years to come.

For collectors of kitch carry-alls, these beauties have it all.

Well, I had a production line going to make these bags,

but I think they've come out OK.

I love that kitsch face just looking out from each one and I'm hoping

that they'll be a load of people who just want to own one.

I'm going to take some pictures

of them and then I'm going to share them, find out if I can sell them.

Someone's going to want one.

In order to appeal to all the kitsch shopping bag lovers out there

in need of a new one, Sarah's posting some piccies online.

But will she be able to sell them?

When Sarah caught up with Robert at the tip, she was just in time.

That's it now, it'll just be the last few things and then...

Oh, are they prints? What are they?

Not sure.

The pictures weren't Robert's cup of tea.

Have they been up in the sitting room then?

Unfortunately, no, they've been hidden away in the attic.

Despite not being his brew, Robert still has high hopes for them.

Hopefully, she can have them repaired, touched up and cleaned,

and find a good home for them.

Well, Robert, that's exactly what happened.

Sarah shared pictures of the bags on social media

and all 12 were snaffled by private buyers.

Not only that, she sold the paintings, too.

Sarah's in Partington in Greater Manchester

to give Robert the good news and hand over the profit.

-Hello, Robert.

-Hello, Sarah, how you doing?

-I'm really well, how are you?

-I'm fine, I'm fine.

-Yourself?

-I'm very well.

Now, I really was amazed to see

those pictures coming out of your car boot.

Did you wonder what I might do with them? If I sold them?

I thought you would have salvaged them and cut the little

pictures out and stuck them on some benches or something like that.

I actually sold the pictures

and with the profit had some fabric printed

using their images.

And I've got some pictures here to show you of what I did with them.

-Yeah.

-Are you ready?

-I am.

Your pictures have been turned into bags.

And I made a dozen of them.

-What do you reckon?

-Really good, that.

-Yeah.

It's still not my cup of tea, but someone would like them.

Well, somebody did like them, actually.

-In fact, I sold all the ones that I made.

-Oh, did you?

-So, I've got some money for you.

-Oh.

-I've got 240 quid here for you.

You're joking.

240 quid?

That's actually astounding.

Is that a surprise?

That's a surprise, yeah.

So, £240 that you weren't expecting. What are you going to do with that?

10%, I'm going to give to a local charity.

And probably treat myself to a new bag.

-Fantastic.

-But I'll never look at a picture the same now.

-Lovely to catch up with you.

-Yeah.

-Any more pictures like that, send them my way.

-I will do.

-No worries.

-Thanks ever so much.

-Yeah, cheers.

-Bye.

The cost of making the tote bags was £60 for the picture-printed fabric.

The sale of all 12 bags and the pictures themselves made £300.

That left a profit of £240 for Robert to share between

a brand-new bag for himself and a local charity.

With the paintings having made a handsome profit,

Sarah's travelled back to Bromsgrove

to see how Clinton and Lorna have got on with the old water tank.

Well, this could be exciting

because I left Lorna and Clinton with a proper challenge.

I asked them to turn something that you wouldn't want

hidden in your loft into something that would take pride of place

in the smartest room in your house.

Let's see if they nailed it or failed it.

I think she's going to love it.

It's a little bit different to what I said I was going to do,

but a nice surprise.

Yeah, we've made a couple of alterations on the original design,

but I think she's going to be really pleased with what she sees.

The water tank was full of rust

and not something you'd want in the house.

Now, Lorna and Clinton have created a footstool

and coffee table fit to grace the fanciest of living rooms.

The rusty interior has been thoroughly cleaned

and sealed with a latex glue.

Lorna has upholstered the seat in lovely leather

and it's all compliant with all UK fire safety standards.

Clinton's elegant cut glass tabletop reveals the inside of the base.

He's even left the water tank's original ballcock in there

as a fun feature.

But will Sarah see the funny side of this transformation?

-Hello.

-Hey.

-Hi.

How are you?

Oh, it's success all round then.

-How you doing?

-Do you like it?

-Yes. Oh, nice to see you.

-How are you?

-Yeah, really well.

It worked. It's great.

Lorna, that is just such a professional finish on that,

it's fantastic, isn't it?

-Are you pleased with it?

-I'm really pleased with it.

This is one of them items where actually...

-Don't want to give it to you.

-Yeah.

We sort of tried to design it to keep the box shape.

That was Lorna's brief and then the rivets on the sides,

she's just added one simple button to follow that seem through.

-Beautiful.

-And then we've kept it level,

so with the glass and with the fabric, the idea was that you could

literally just push them together and it forms one coffee table.

-I remember the rubbish that was in the bottom of the tank.

-Yeah.

And it looked like, you know,

you wouldn't give it house room in a million years.

This is beautiful.

It's all safety glass.

Everything else is 100% upcycled, as well.

I am confident this is going to be finding a new home really quickly.

I think Sarah likes it.

Ballcock and all.

Now, it's time to talk cash.

How did Lorna and Clinton do with the budget?

How was budget? I think we left somewhere like 265.

How did you get on?

Yeah, we brought it in exactly on budget. 265.

Guys, I think it's fantastic. Thanks so much.

I'll get it picked up and I'll let you know where it goes.

-Thanks a lot, bye.

-Bye.

Well, of course they nailed it.

There are two beautiful pieces of furniture there.

And I think there's definitely money to be made.

I'm glad we got Sarah's seal of approval.

I actually felt in my bones it was a good piece anyway.

Definitely.

So I'm glad she really liked it and, you know what?

That's going to be... Someone's going to give that a nice home.

-They better do.

-Yeah, picture of me and you on it.

Yeah.

When Sarah met mother and daughter Wendy and Rachel,

she was pleased to see them.

-Hello, hello.

-Hi.

Now, what... What's a pair of nice girls like you

doing with that dirty chunk of metal?

They brought their old tank to the tip for a good reason.

With this being like 50 years old,

it's not acceptable to have it in the house.

Wendy had ideas about where it might end up.

Pubs tend to go for all that kind of stuff, don't they?

The old-fashioned stuff.

But it'll be interesting to see what she does out of it.

Well, Wendy, it's Clinton and Lorna you have to thank for this one.

In fact, they did such a good job,

Sarah had no problem finding a buyer.

Home furnishing shop French Cottage Inspired Living

in Petworth, West Sussex, loved their look.

And manager Michael couldn't be happier.

We think that they're ideal for our customers.

We do the unusual stuff here and this is...

This is just perfect.

Sarah's travelled to Urmston in Manchester to tell Wendy

the good news.

And hand over the profit.

-Hi, there.

-Hi, Sarah.

-Hello, nice to see you again.

-How are you?

-Thank you. All right, thank you very much.

So, you were being a really helpful mummy the last time I saw you.

Yes, I was.

-So helping your daughter clear out her house.

-Yes.

How's that all gone?

We're still halfway there from doing it.

We've still got the hall, stairs and landing to do.

But I think this year we'll get it completed one way or another.

Fantastic. So did you think...

Somebody comes your way and asks you for your old rusty water tank.

What are they going to do with that?

Well, I have thought about it in the back of my mind,

what you were going to do with it.

And we've sat there and discussed it, but I haven't got a clue.

I got some pictures to show you.

-That is how I think you might remember it.

-Yeah.

It now is a coffee table and footstool set.

Oh, that's brilliant.

That looks fantastic.

-Do you like it?

-Brilliant. It's great.

It's gone from the loft where you wouldn't want to see it,

into a shop where they just love the look of it, they going to sell it.

There's a little bit of profit for you.

-Oh, brilliant.

-A smashing 45 quid here for you.

-Brilliant.

-For your old tank.

-That is absolutely fantastic.

-What might you do with that?

-I'm going to go and have a holiday.

A long-earned holiday after all the work that we've been doing.

I'm so pleased for you. I hope you have a lovely time.

You definitely deserve to have a holiday after helping out.

-Thank you very much, Sarah.

-Really good to catch up.

-Brilliant.

-Nice to see you.

-Thank you very much.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

Lorna and Clinton came in on budget at £265.

Sarah's sold the two pieces of furniture together

for an impressive £310.

Giving Wendy £45 to put towards her holiday.

Sarah has returned to Hellingly in East Sussex

to the workshop of Norman

in the hope of finding a mirrored Venetian beauty.

Instead of a weary old dressing table.

I think it's... I think it's come up really well.

I think Sarah will be really pleased.

We've done a nice bold colour,

the mirror is cut well and looks really cool.

Yeah, I'm really, really pleased with it.

Well, I'm so excited to be here picking up my dressing table

and I'm hoping Norman has gone for the full makeover

and used all those mirrors and not just a cosmetic update.

When Sarah left the dressing table with Norman,

she hoped for a radical transformation.

And Norman's come up trumps.

This is no longer a dowdy old dressing table,

but instead a sparkling Venetian-inspired beauty.

Norman has smoothed the surfaces, allowing the cut and polished

original central mirror

to be attached to the front of each drawer.

Cut glass crystal handles have been sourced to provide extra bling,

the side mirrors have been fixed in place horizontally

across the back of a brand-new top

and, finally, a striking Regency blue chalk paint

has been applied as a classic finish.

But will it be glassy enough to please Sarah?

-Norman.

-Hello, you.

-How are you?

-How are you?

I'm well, how are you? Always get two in.

Always forget the two.

There you go.

-No.

-Yeah.

-Really?

What do you think?

That was really tired.

Not desirable.

-Now, it is.

-Love it, love it.

We've done a nice strong colour inside, as well.

To compliment the inside of the drawers.

It's really good.

I had to take the glass down to a glass works.

Because we had to put...

We thought we needed a professional job.

But also they polish the edges, so you don't catch yourself on them,

so I think it's turned out really, really well.

To embrace all of that I think is really clever.

And these...

-Yeah, found them.

-Who knew, Norman?

I found my feminine side.

Well, I have to say, I really like your feminine side.

How's your budget side?

Taking the mirrors down to the glass works to cut and everything,

-it just blew the budget away.

-Right.

-Because I really didn't think...

Because we hand-shaked and we're old school,

we'll still do it for the same money.

So 295?

Yeah, 295. Yeah.

-You've done a cracking job.

-Fantastic. Sell it well.

See you soon.

Well, of course he used all the mirror.

I love the way Norman makes things for us

because they are beautiful and they're saleable.

I'm really happy.

Great response from Sarah.

Loved everything we did.

She should love it for the price we did, so happy days.

She'll hopefully selling well.

Brilliant.

When Sarah met Roy at the tip,

he was familiar with the history of the dressing table.

My parents bought this in Manchester a long, long time ago.

Although pleased to hand it over, there was one stipulation.

Is it going to a good home?

It definitely will be going to a good home.

Having agreed to let Sarah take it,

Roy had no idea how it would turn out.

I hardly think she's going to paint it in green gloss paint

or something, but maybe she is. I just... I don't know.

What will be will be.

Once back at home, Sarah posted pictures

of the dressing table online to try and hook a buyer.

And in no time at all, it was on its way to a new home.

Sarah is in Hale to show Roy what became of his old dressing table.

And to hand over the profit.

-Hello, there.

-Hello.

-Nice to see you again, Roy.

-Nice to see you again.

-Good weather for it?

-I know, isn't it?

You never know what's going to happen next with

this weather, do you? No, it's just the way it is.

Your old dressing table was ending up at the tip, wasn't it?

Exactly. It had to go.

It was past its sell by date, so to speak. So it had to go. Yeah.

When you got home, did you wonder what I might do with it?

I wondered whether it was salvageable

and if anything could happen to it. But I don't know.

Well, I took it to a great mate of mine, Norman.

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

My goodness!

It's changed colour, as well!

-So, what do you think of it? Do you approve?

-I like it.

I wouldn't recognise it, I must confess. That is super.

It's actually been sold, so I've got some profit here for you.

Oh, well!

Not a huge amount, but I have got £40 here

that was profit after we sold the dressing table.

-That's for you.

-Well done, you.

Well, yes, everyone's a winner.

-Indeed.

-That is good. That's good.

What might you do with £40?

It'll go to a charity, but I don't know yet.

I'll talk it through with my wife and we'll decide which one.

We were expecting nothing, it was just going.

It'll go to some charity.

Well, I'll pass on your approval to Norman, I know he was really

pleased with it. So I'm glad you liked it.

-Oh, yes. Oh, please do. It was great.

-Brilliant.

Can't believe it's the same thing. Sarah, thank you so much.

-Well done, you. Thanks a lot.

-Thank you, bye-bye.

Cheerio now, bye-bye. Take care.

Oh!

Norman charged £295 to do up Roy's dressing table.

Sarah was able to sell it for £335.

Making a profit of £40 for Roy.

Sarah salvaged three items travelling to the trash.

Lorna and Clinton worked wonders on the water tank.

Norman totally transformed the dressing table.

And Sarah sent those two paintings on a wonderful new journey.

Well, with some imagination and lots of hard work,

we've created beautiful bespoke pieces

that will really stand the test of time.

What fantastic transformations.