Episode 28 Money for Nothing

You haven't got anything I could recycle, have you?

How do you make money for nothing?

Wow, look at that!

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

thrown out by us every year.

Well, don't get rid of it too quickly.

This stuff looks amazing.

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 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 don't know what to say.

Did you drag it here behind the truck?

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

It's enormous!

..valuable...

Isn't that fantastic?

..and hopefully saleable items.

It's just given me goose bumps.

If Sarah is successful,

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

there was cash to be made from their trash.

Thank you very much! Marvellous.

It's a beautiful day for throwing out your rubbish

in Witley in Surrey.

The local recycling centre here is buzzing with bin bags,

and wherever there's a skip,

there's Sarah.

You might like going out shopping.

Maybe you go to the cinema.

You might even go to an art gallery.

But for me, if I want a really great day out,

I come to the recycling centre.

It's fantastic!

Whatever floats your boat, Sarah!

If you're thinking of raiding your local tip,

don't.

Sarah has special permission to be here.

She must find three items she can do up and turn into dosh.

I think I could really clean up round here.

You'll have your work cut out in this place!

Perhaps Colin will brighten your day.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Sorry to disturb you when you look busy.

-Busy.

-I like the look of that.

Yes, it's an old artist's studio easel.

-Is it yours?

-It is mine, yes.

-Do you paint?

-I do, yes.

Yeah, funny, that!

Oh, fantastic.

But I've got a later version, as one might say,

and this one's just standing in the garage,

in the way, as all things in the garage are.

So have you had it long?

-Was this yours from new?

-It wasn't mine from new,

it was from a previous garage clearance, in fact.

Artist Colin's old easel has been well used,

but is it sturdy enough to be used again?

There.

It's just a lovely vintage version of what I see

coming out of shops today,

so I think it's really attractive, and definitely,

there's some potential to give it a new lease of life.

That's one foldaway find for magpie Moore,

and she's looking pretty chirpy.

-Excellent.

-There we are.

-Well, I will say that is a lovely thing

for me to find here, and thank you so much for letting me have it.

Bye-bye, then.

But what will Sarah do with it?

Any ideas, Colin?

I can imagine it being,

when it's clean and nice and oiled and whatever,

making quite a nice lamp, perhaps, out of it.

A lamp. Not bad.

So what IS the master plan?

I'd like to paint you a picture

about exactly what I'm going to do with this,

but I have no idea.

But I do know it's beautiful, it's handmade, it's beech,

it's got some great vintage quality,

and that normally means there's money to be made out of it.

For Sarah, there's one designer with the vision to transform this easel.

Say hello to Daniel Heath.

Daniel is a designer/maker who can turn his hand to almost anything.

A wallpaper and textiles designer by trade,

he produces everything from bespoke furniture

to high-end furnishings.

My designs are inspired by lots of different things.

I like to story-tell with the work,

and I like to explore narratives through fun imagery.

You see them evolve as you're creating the design,

but printing them makes them a reality,

and it makes them into a product, and it makes them into something

that somebody else will enjoy as well.

I'm really, really privileged to be able to do that.

To carry on being creative is a great honour.

Well, Daniel, you'll need all of that creativity,

as this easel has even Sarah scratching her head.

One item down, two still to find.

Although Sarah seems to have given up on the searching

and has gone straight for the money.

-No fivers.

-What?!

-All yours. You can recycle that.

-Nae fivers?!

Get your head back in the game,

as Anthony could have item two waiting for you.

Oh, wow, that looks old and lovely.

-Hi there.

-It is. Hello.

-Hello.

-What...?

-It's a Z bed.

It's a real Z bed, isn't it?

A real Z bed, which has been in the family...a lot of years.

Does that mean it was yours?

I don't know if I ever used it.

-It was for guests.

-OK.

Everybody had one, didn't they?

-Yes.

-Everybody had Z beds, but I don't know what we do now.

What do we do now?

Well, it folds up, it makes a useful dressing table top.

Fantastic. I bet it's quite heavy, isn't it?

The Z bed was a staple of the British home in the 1940s and '50s.

What do you do, legs first, or...?

No, legs come afterwards. So, straight down there...

It's a bed that doubles as a table.

Oh, they don't make them like that any more.

Beautifully designed.

I'm slightly thinking it'll only ever be a Z bed!

-A Z bed!

-But it has potential,

and if not, it looks comfortable.

-HE LAUGHS

-Yes!

Comfortable?

With springs like that?

You've got to be kidding!

Can I take away your Z bed?

-Well, I hope so.

-And be back in touch if I can?

Brilliant, yeah, thank you.

Well, at least our Sarah looks pleased.

Anthony, what do you reckon she's planning?

A Z bed is an unusual item...

..which may limit its possibilities of changing it.

Ain't that the truth?!

Ultimately, I'm not sure what she'll do with it.

Well, I'm hoping this Z bed's sleeping days are over,

because this needs a brand-new look,

and a total makeover if it's going to make any money.

I'm thinking it should be something cool, something stylish,

and something that one of my very talented friends

is going to have to help me with.

For Sarah, there's only one man for this job.

Meet King of Wood Norman Wilkinson.

He's been making furniture for more than 25 years.

No matter what Sarah throws at him from the tip,

Norman always comes up trumps.

Oh, the stuff you get from the tip, some of it, I'm thinking,

what are we doing? But, you know, it's great fun!

And also, when you turn the weird and wonderful ones

into something great and they sell it as well,

and someone's going to love it, I mean,

that's what it's all about, isn't it?

And there isn't a day that goes by

when making furniture doesn't take Norman to his happy place.

I enjoy my work. I think if anyone enjoys their work,

it comes out in the piece of furniture, because,

you know, you love it,

and then it hopefully reflects when someone buys it,

that they can see the love that we've put into it.

You know, it's a joy to get up and come to work in the mornings.

Mmm... You might not be quite so joyful, Norman,

when you clap your eyes on this old bed.

Two down, one to go.

This time, it's something Sarah can work on herself.

Sort of tempting, aren't they?

You never know what's going to be in one of those boots, do you?

No, you never know.

But Alex's boot has potential loot.

That looks like a sweet chair.

-It is a great chair.

-Had it long?

-It's my old...

I have had, about seven years.

-My pride and joy.

-And you've fallen out of love with it?

Yeah. And unfortunately, the springs have broken,

which makes it not particularly comfortable any more.

-And I tried to get somebody to repair it.

-Right.

But unfortunately, it was too much money to repair.

Cheaper to buy a new one.

Well, I'm really glad that you couldn't find anybody,

because I'm looking for stuff like this.

And you have a footstool as well that goes with it?

And I have a lovely footstool that goes with it.

If it'd be OK to take both those things away,

shall I come and find you to show you what I've done with it?

Yes, that would be great. I'd actually like that, thank you.

Fantastic.

Nice one, Sarah.

Alex, what do you think Sarah's got planned for your saggy-seated combo?

I'm sure she's going to upcycle it and give it a new, lovely home.

That's the plan.

Well, it might not be vintage, it might not even be antique,

but it is definitely cute.

It's got a style all of its own, and it is absolutely ripe for an update.

Update?

I think you might mean overhaul.

Sarah's tracked down all three items.

Daniel will be pondering on this artist's easel.

Norman will be right out of his comfort zone with a 1940s Z bed,

and Sarah will be earning her stripes

fixing up a burst armchair and footstool.

Well, I am loving the items that I found at the recycling centre today,

but I'm going to love them even more when they turn a profit.

Walthamstow in East London,

with that good old E17 postcode.

It's where Daniel dreams up his award-winning designs.

But can he turn Sarah's old easel into some fine art?

Working with these pieces often gives me

sort of licence to be more creative,

do something a little more... left-field,

something a bit different from what I've done before.

That's just what I wanted to hear.

Well, it's a lovely artist's easel,

but transforming it into something else?

I don't know what you'd do. I've seen people put TVs on it,

I'm just hoping Daniel's got some bright ideas

of making that into a money maker.

Hi!

-Hey, how you doing?

-Really well.

An easel! It's a big one, that, isn't it?

It's not, like, one of these little flimsy jobs.

Do you want to stand it up and see how it works?

It does all sorts of weird...

Yeah, it's like a deck chair.

It might seem a bit cumbersome today,

but wooden easels like this were a game changer

for 19th-century artists,

as they could go anywhere with them.

Perhaps Constable painted The Hay Wain using one of these.

-Did I get you?

-You did!

Careful, Daniel! We need those hands.

-What do you think?

-Yeah, it's great.

It's... It's substantial.

I'm just trying to think, what else could you clamp in it?

I've seen flatscreen TVs in them.

Although... Yeah, I don't know if I want that risk.

I'm with you on that one, Daniel.

But maybe we could do something so that it still looks like this,

but it's reinforced in some way,

so that it doesn't wobble, and it doesn't move around.

And then you could put something on it,

either a mirror or shelving or something like that.

I can see it being a very saleable item

if it's got a proper big dressing mirror in it,

-something substantial like that.

-Yeah.

And then, perhaps,

somewhere to hang an item of clothing.

How about a man stand?

Eh? A man stand?

-A man stand...?

-Shaving kit...

Yeah, that's good.

Yeah, little shelf, little...

Like, brass shelf or something sticking out,

so you can put your...man stuff.

"Man stuff"?

Like a set of jump leads and an oily rag?

Suits, cufflinks, ties, moisturisers.

-This is a modern man, obviously.

-Yeah.

Ah, like me, you mean!

Love it. How much?

It's going to depend on what accessories I go with,

but I think it's probably going to be about 200 quid.

200 quid well spent, I think.

I think it's an original idea.

I think it's very now,

and you've got the perfect bones to create something original from it.

-It's going to be good.

-Go crazy, won't you?

Yeah, yeah. Well, I want it to be sophisticated.

I'm going to leave you with all those lovely thoughts.

-Call me when it's ready.

-See you, Sarah.

It's an easel, so it's going to be nice to make into something else.

And, yeah, I think getting all the accessories and bits,

it's going to make it into something fun for someone's home.

You said it, Dan.

I can't wait to see this man stand!

It's a great idea. Maybe a little bit of a niche market,

but I think Dan's going to make it fantastic.

At £200 for labour and materials,

this easel will be reborn,

but will it bring in the bucks?

For Sarah's next stop,

she's come to the village of Hellingly in East Sussex.

This is where wood wonderman Norman works on his wonderful wood.

And so what has Sarah brought him?

Metal.

Ugh.

BED RATTLING

Do you think Norman heard me coming?

I'm going to go and get him, and see what he thinks of my Z bed.

He's going to love it!

I'm not so sure, Sarah.

Look.

-No, no, it's here.

-Oh, oh, sorry.

-Oh, this one.

-Give me a hand in with it.

-Don't be rude.

-I'd never be rude to you.

Why do I doubt that?

I can see you're falling in love with it already.

Dear, oh, dear. You do come up with some stuff, don't you?

I've had a couple of ideas.

One of them was to turn it upside down,

and use the frame to make a foldout table,

because you've got a 6-foot table on a frame with no legs.

SHE CHUCKLES

Oh, he's not liking that one.

Or the other alternative, because it's got wheels on it,

and I have been known to mention this in the past,

but I am quite partial to a cocktail.

I haven't got a cocktail cabinet!

Cocktail trolley!

Is that possible?

-Everything's possible.

-Cocktail trolley?

Has she gone completely mad?

Yeah, why not?

What, with little umbrellas?

Yeah. Only problem is, this is a bit ugly,

and I think a cocktail trolley needs to be a bit pretty.

Right, we're going to have our work cut out today, aren't we?

I think you'll have work cut out, your metal cut out, wood cut out...

Everything. Let's get rid of all that lot.

-Right, yeah, good start.

-I think this lot's going to have to go

as well, isn't it? Because it really isn't doing anything.

Obviously, we'll take the top off,

because it's not really very glamorous, is it,

-for a cocktail cabinet?

-OK.

What about...

..if we open this out...

-..fix it...

-Right.

..put a back on it, and then we could make something,

a box and put a lining of some form, zinc, tin, to hold it,

fill it up with ice, champagne, fantastic.

I love that idea!

We'll try and do posh but rustic as well.

We'll clean it up and just keep it in that natural state.

So I am looking for a first-class drinks trolley.

Is it a first-class price?

Well, we'll give you a first-class job.

We'll try and do it for 425.

I think that's a genius interpretation

of a simple trolley idea.

425 quid?

I don't care if I make money on it or not.

-Go for it!

-A bit like me, then!

Well done, you. I'll see you soon.

-Yeah. Cocktails, dear?

-Yes.

Looks like even the thought of champagne has made Sarah giddy,

as she's agreed to really splash out.

Every so often, you have to take a risk on something.

£425 on a Z bed.

I think that drinks trolley is going to be amazing.

We're going to have to use some imagination

to get it to where we need to.

But I think this is going to be one of the most challenging projects

we've done, really, trying to turn a Z bed into a champagne trolley...

that's going to be saleable.

It's a risky £425 to reinvent the Z bed,

but if anyone can make it saleable, it's Norman.

Come on, Ravi, this way!

Coming in?

In the beautiful South Downs in West Sussex,

Sarah is heading to her barn,

to start work on the stripy armchair and footstool.

Well, this chair and footstool, they're not normally my cup of tea.

They're bit too modern, a bit too smart.

But I've got this lot, and this definitely is my cup of tea.

I've got some lovely vintage fabrics,

beautiful old tweed coat.

A tweed coat?

Have you got a hat and scarf for it, too?

This seat has got a really nasty spring loose in it,

so before I can make it beautiful, I've got to make it comfortable.

Now, I should point out that Sarah's not a trained upholsterer.

Her area of expertise is the outside,

not what goes on under the cushions.

That really is scary.

I don't know where the springs are.

Good start!

I do not want to undo that webbing.

If I undo that webbing, there is a world of pain coming.

How about instead of going under,

you go after the big bulge on the top?

Just last thing I want to be doing is cutting this material off here,

because I really need the structure of this chair to stay the same.

Well, it's either that or you stay with a bumpy rump.

Here goes nothing.

Ah, that's the problem.

Look, it's a really cheap, badly put together spring set,

and that is forever going to cause problems,

because they're not tied in.

They're bouncing all over the place,

and they feel really uncomfortable,

so I think that should be put aside,

and I'm going to use the padding

and the bits that are in the footstool

to build up a lovely, comfortable base for the chair

and just rest it on that webbing.

Using the foam from the footstool makes for

a really cosy, comfortable seat.

But if it's longevity you're looking for,

you can replace the springs with a new spring set for around £15.

Oh, that's so much better!

It's really comfortable now.

Hey, here comes the exciting bit, though.

I've got vintage fabric to put on this to make it look lovely.

It's going to be a bit of a task,

cos I'm reclaiming some of it from an old coat.

And that old coat has come from a charity shop.

I absolutely love this Harris Tweed.

It's such a beautiful, old, well-made fabric.

I want to keep a little bit of detail of the coat,

but I don't want it to look like it's been draped over the chair.

-That's a good bit there...

-To keep everything safe,

Sarah has added a special fire retardant cloth under the tweed.

Just using the edge of the seam of the front of the coat here

to provide a really neat edge.

Sarah has positioned the fabric of the coat

so that the buttonholes are down the side of each arm.

Clever!

Definitely want to make a feature out of these things, otherwise,

they're going to look like they're just holes in the fabric.

And I've actually got the pocket here, which I'm going to leave in.

Maybe you can put the remote control in there.

A pocket in an armchair!

That is out there, Sarah!

I think this might actually work.

Sarah spent £50 in fabric for the chair.

If she somehow makes this thing desirable,

she could stand to make a fair bit of profit.

Back in Walthamstow,

Daniel is getting to grips with the easel.

Or should I say, man stand?

We've got this artist's easel.

We're going to turn it into a man stand.

A man stand is basically going to be like a man's dressing station,

so we're going to have a mirror on it,

and we're going to have a place to hang a jacket,

maybe somewhere to put your watch and your tie.

A little accessories shelf as well.

So hopefully, it's going to be

quite a quirky little sort of bedroom accessories stand.

In the old days,

your Edwardian gentleman would have had what was called a valet stand

to hang his suit on.

But your modern man, well, he needs a mirror, of course.

Daniel's making a back for the mirror out of plywood

for mounting on the stand.

Good luck with cutting that circle out!

I have to get it roughly into a circle,

and then I'm going to use a massive disk sander

to bring it to a nice, smooth edge all around the sides.

Ah, so that's how you make neat circles out of plywood!

Daniel's got some serious machinery in his workshop.

I'd love a go on his sander.

OK, so I've just cut this to size, I hope the...

hope the mirror fits.

Oh, spot-on!

This is going to go up on the easel here.

Somewhere.

I imagine we might try and make it off centre,

or maybe central, not entirely sure yet.

While Daniel reflects on that, he's got to clean up that easel.

Great! Are we going back to the big sander?

Aww, just a small sander this time.

But good for doing fine detail.

To get into all the corners means dismantling the whole thing.

Yeah, I hope I can remember how to put it all back together.

Yeah, me too, Daniel!

Once we get it back to this all over...

..and then we put a really, really nice hard wood oil on it,

it'll bring out the grain, bring out the colour,

but it'll be really, really consistent,

and it'll look really good, I think.

A beautiful finish will give it

that cool, sophisticated look that Daniel's aiming for.

But how do you make this plywood mirror mount look just as good?

OK, so we've got this piece of wood that's going to be

the back of the mirror.

It's going to be exposed,

because it's going to be attached to the easel.

I quite like the grain on here, but I just don't like...

I don't think the colour's going to be good for what we're doing,

so I think they should stain it or we should paint it.

Daniel is testing out a dark wood stain

on the spare bit of ply to see if it works for him.

Yeah, there we go.

So, yeah...

I think that could be nice.

I think I'm going to go for it.

Daniel is using a wood stain rather than paint

to help the grain of the wood show through.

Remember when using a wood stain to always brush

the same way as the grain.

This makes brushstrokes less noticeable.

The stain that we put on this,

we might put on other parts of the easel as well.

Like the shelf, or the hanger,

that might be in the same stain,

so we have a bit of a mixture of different wood colours.

But just keeping it quite sophisticated.

Well, I'm not seeing sophisticated just yet.

But Daniel's got a real vision of his concepts, right?

I like to think that the man stand,

trademark pending,

could be a common thing in the bachelor pad,

but, you know, I'm thinking it's more kind of...

..James Bond.

It's a bit more Odd Job than James Bond at the moment.

Let's hope he can pull it off.

Back in Hellingly, Norman is getting to grips

with the reality of the Z bed

becoming some sort of drinks trolley.

We are going to make it into a champagne trolley.

We're going to use oak,

and let's see where we go.

So I have plans in my head,

but this is going to be one that I think I'm going to be making up

as I go along.

Flying by the seat of his pants.

Go on, Norman!

Yeah, we'll take the top off first,

and then it'll help me get to the springs.

Norman only wants the actual bed frame to work with,

so all the springs have to go.

I suppose the good thing about it is,

I can always have a kip halfway through, can't I?

There's no rest for the wicked, Norman.

First to go is the old wooden table top.

Next to go are the springs.

That actually looks like fun.

It's great. You can take your anger out on it,

and if someone's upset you during the day,

you can think it is them, can't you?

Steady on, big fella!

Right, that bit, this is going to be the first bit of the structure,

so we're going to obviously use that for the top.

I think we're going to take this bit off and lose this bit.

I think we'll get the drill and the saw

and we'll try and take this apart, drill it out.

This bed is around 70 years old.

So the only way to get it apart is with brute force.

Bingo!

Right, throw that bit away.

Another bit.

Next to be chucked out are these little metal wheels.

Oh, I can feel a drill or a hammer coming on.

What's it going to be?

It's the drill!

Bingo.

I've taken these off another job,

so I thought one day they'd come in handy,

so this is what we're going to do.

So I'm going to plug that with a piece of wood,

get a nice piece of wood, and I'll glue it in,

and then once it's gone off,

and then I can drill it in, and then I can put that in,

and glue that in as well.

So, put that in,

that in,

and that in!

Fantastic. What about the rest of it?

Got us a nice bit of oak. We've already cut it to size,

so we're going to just pop it into the base,

and then go from there.

Oak is a really dense hardwood

which has good resistance to things like stains and scratches.

Great wood for a champagne trolley, I reckon.

A bit of brute force and ignorance always helps.

That's one shelf well and truly in.

Now for the table top.

It's safety glasses and big, powerful saw time.

He makes that look easy.

And in the blink of an eye,

Norman's made an oak table top for his trolley.

And what's next?

We're going to put a piece in here all the way round.

We're going to have this as the front.

If we get this in, and then it'll start really taking shape.

I'm glad, Norman,

because all I can see is an old Z bed with a shelf in it.

With our makers busy overhauling the first two tip finds,

we're going back to West Sussex to see how Sarah's getting on

with her armchair.

I've got as much of the coat on as possible.

It's covered a fair bit.

I'm going to do the arms and the inside

in this lovely houndstooth.

Sarah started with a striped armchair and footstool.

The fabric was frazzled,

and the seat was too lumpy to get comfy.

But now...

It's been completely made over,

with a mixture of vintage fabric in on trend carnival colours.

The small embellishments like these buttons

leave just a hint of that coat made from hand-woven Harris tweed,

and the new padding made from the now discarded footstool

makes it a real treat for the rear.

It's compliant with all UK fire safety regulations,

and I have to say, I had my doubts about this one,

but now, I absolutely love it.

Time to grab the old pipe and slippers.

I popped a little bit of floral into the seat.

I've used absolutely as much of that old coat as possible,

and I'm really pleased with its lovely tweed feeling.

I hope it'll find a nice new home.

Let's find out.

It was at Witley recycling centre that Sarah spotted Alex.

That looks like a sweet chair.

It is a great chair.

Alex had spent seven years with his trusty chair and footstool.

My pride and joy.

But he was reluctantly saying goodbye.

The springs have broken,

but unfortunately, it was too much money to repair.

Alex was chuffed that Sarah wanted to transform his saggy-seated combo.

I'm sure she's going to upcycle it and give it a new, lovely home.

Two became one,

as Sarah used the footstool to help revamp the chair.

She shared pictures of it online,

and it wasn't long before it was snapped up by a private buyer.

But is there a profit for Alex?

Well, unfortunately, I haven't been able to catch up with Alex

to talk about his old striped armchair,

but I really pleased to say that I've got quite a bit of profit

to send his way.

In fact, I've got £170 here,

and that's going straight to him.

Sarah spent only £50 on materials for the chair,

and she sold it for £220,

leaving a healthy profit of £170 for Alex.

Well done, Sarah.

In East London,

Sarah's come back to Walthamstow

to see how Daniel's getting on with the artist's easel.

So, the man stand is almost ready.

Occasionally, I'll go to just tighten a nut,

and I'll realise it's still wet...

..so, yeah, we're pretty close to time on this one.

Ready or not, here she comes.

But will Sarah be impressed?

I think she's really going to like it.

I think all the materials have come together really well, so, yeah,

can't wait for her to see it.

Well, I'm here in a very busy Walthamstow,

coming to pick up my easel tip find,

and I'm hoping Dan has turned it into something super saleable.

Daniel started off with an everyday wooden artist's easel.

Now it's a dressing stand for the modern man.

Daniel has sanded and oiled the original wood,

added a useful shelf,

and there's even a coat hanger at the back.

Perfect for your suit jacket.

The crowning glory is this magnificent mirror,

which Daniel had etched with one of his signature bird designs.

Stunning.

This might be repurposing as art,

but will this hipster furniture stand up to Sarah's expectations?

-Hey, Dan!

-Hey, Sarah. How are you doing?

-I'm really well. How are you?

-Good to see you.

Dan, it's a fantastic thing.

The man stand is here, yeah.

Wow, it's really neat.

And is that a vintage mirror you've got?

It's not. I just bought a new piece of glass and vintageified it.

I did the etching on it.

Daniel created this design,

then had it etched using a laser engraving machine.

I think it's inspiring stuff,

and what you've done, I love it.

Thank you.

Sarah's certainly feeling the love,

but is she sensing a profit?

It's come out looking very sleek, but how's the budget been?

We use as much of the original thing as we could.

Just got a standard size piece of mirror.

Spray paint, oil, that was it.

-So 200 quid, are we in?

-Yeah, we're in.

Thank you.

This one was quite challenging for me,

because the easel is such a kind of simple contraption,

and they're really, really common.

I wanted to do something interesting with it,

and I'm really happy how it's turned out.

Well, I was expecting a practical man stand,

but I think Dan's delivered something really beautiful.

He's groomed that easel

into something that is going to turn a tidy profit.

At Witley recycling centre,

Sarah ran into Colin, throwing out an old artist's easel.

-Do you paint?

-I do. Yes.

Colin had a newer one,

so had no use for the old one.

This one's just standing in the garage,

in the way, as all things in the garage are.

But he did have an inkling of how to re-use it.

I can imagine it making quite a nice lamp, perhaps, out of it.

And once Daniel got his hands on it,

the man stand was born.

The beautiful etched bird caught the eye of this barber shop in Glasgow.

It's not hard to see why.

Owner Stephen thought it would fit in perfectly

with all things manly in his quirky shop.

Well, it's quite good for us as barbers.

So, we've got the stand to put all our products on,

but I particularly like the etching on it,

because our logo is actually a bird.

Time for Sarah to take flight over to Haslemere

to show Colin what happened to his old easel.

-Hello there.

-Oh, hello, Sarah!

-How are you?

-I'm very well.

-Nice to see you.

-And to see you.

You were dropping off a lovely old artist's easel when I met you.

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

I did, yes.

I mean, the thought of it just being another easel,

but nicely sort of presented was one thought that occurred to me.

Well, actually, I did have a few thoughts about it,

but in the end, I took it to Walthamstow

to a great guy called Dan,

who is actually a surface pattern designer,

so I've got some pictures to show you what he did with your easel.

-OK, this I'm looking forward to, yes.

-Here it is.

Oh, my goodness.

That is lovely, isn't it?

He has turned it into what we have termed the man stand.

Right. Right, yes.

So appropriate, today, isn't it?

I mean, men spend a lot more time in front of the mirror.

It is our mission, having had things made, to sell them,

and your man stand has gone to a lovely barber's from Glasgow,

-so I have £60 here for you, as well, for your old easel.

-Wow!

Thank you very much indeed!

That's an absolute pleasure.

Have you got any idea what you might spend £60 on?

That's going to the kidney research,

UK Kidney Research.

-OK.

-And that's what I'd like to do with it.

Well, that sounds like an amazing thing to do with it.

-Thank you so much for letting us have it.

-Thank you.

-Goodbye, Colin. Thank you so much.

-Thank you very much. Bye-bye, now.

Well, it was lovely to catch up with Colin again,

and I bet he didn't see a man stand coming!

But I think he approved of what we made of it, and I'm so pleased

we managed to make a bit of profit for his charity.

Daniel charged a total of £200 for his work and materials.

And the man stand was sold to the barber's for £260,

leaving a pleasant profit of £60 for Colin's chosen charity.

Over in East Sussex,

Sarah's back, to see the transformation of the Z bed,

and it looks like Norman's got something on ice for her.

It's the most craziest thing I've ever had to do, really.

But we have done the best of our ability,

and I think it's turned out really well.

Well, I've traversed Sussex to pick up my transformed trolley,

and I'm hoping it's going to be service with a smile

and drinks all round,

because a grumpy Norman is not a pleasant sight!

Sarah left Norman with this rusty old 1940s Z bed.

Now, it's an absolutely fabulous drinks trolley.

He's made a luxurious light oak table top

with sunken ice boxes to chill your bubbly.

All held within the original metal frame,

complete with bedsprings to give it that sense of history

that comes with a vintage wine.

Pass me the bubbly, darling!

-Oh, hello!

-Hello, you.

How are you? You all right?

SHE GASPS

-Norman!

-There we go.

That is one on-trend trolley, isn't it?

You've got two lots of champagne.

We've put glasses in there, but you've got two lots.

Got storage underneath.

You've got the glasses, and even a drawer for your bits and pieces,

your umbrellas.

You've given it some class where it was really lacking.

I mean, we've used oak this time, and we've kept it very...light,

so it's a bit of a modern, with the old,

-so it's a bit of a twist on both.

-Both counts.

The old Z bed has been completely reconstructed.

But some clever touches mean it will never be forgotten.

You move round the back...

-Oh, Norman!

-We kept that bar on, so that's for your tea towels.

And then we put the springs in the back there to help hold it,

and just remind everyone what it was.

Well, I think you've just kept all the good bits out of it.

-Yeah.

-And you've given it some lovely little casters as well.

Yeah, changed the casters.

We didn't repaint it or do anything,

because I wanted to try and keep the history of it being a Z bed,

and the label and everything, so we just cleaned it up and lacquered it,

and yeah, I think it works.

I think you've done well, cos that was a tricky thing to transform.

It is a trolley with class.

Come on, hit me with the money, cos it was just over 400 quid,

-wasn't it?

-It was, but we went a bit over budget with this one.

Really? Go on, then.

We got it to 800, I'm afraid.

-You didn't?!

-No, no, 425!

Of course Norman kept to budget, and Sarah's pretty impressed.

I think that you've created something out of nothing,

and that's an achievement, and it's full of alcohol!

-What more could you ask for?

-Fantastic, yeah!

-Come on, Norman.

-Glass with ice.

-Sun's out. Let's take it outside.

I thought, what am I doing, taking it on?

But as we got into it and everything,

it turned into a really great project,

and I actually quite like it,

so I hope there's someone out there will love it as well,

and I'm really pleased that Sarah liked it.

Well, it certainly goes to show, you snooze, you lose.

If I hadn't picked that up on the tip,

we wouldn't have this fantastic drinks trolley.

I think Norman's done a cracking job,

and I can't wait to let everybody else have a look at it.

At the Witley recycling centre,

Sarah ran into Anthony, who had some old metal in his boot.

Oh, wow, that looks old and lovely.

-Hi there.

-It is. Hello.

For Anthony, this was a bit of family history.

It's a real Z bed, isn't it?

Real Z bed, which has been in the family...a lot of years.

Sarah thought it had potential.

Can I take away your Z bed?

Yes, thank you.

But Anthony had his doubts.

A Z bed is an unusual item...

..which may limit its possibilities of changing it.

But our Norman knows no limits,

and, after a wrestle with the metal...

..he produced this champion champagne trolley.

Its unique vintage styling grabbed the attention of Nicole.

Oh, fantastic!

She bought it for her mobile catering company,

We Are Lollapalooza,

to serve the bubbly at their chic events.

Yeah, I'm liking this.

The metal and wood combined gives it a unique look.

I like how they've still got the springs kept on it, too.

Yeah, really like it.

A happy buyer means Sarah has popped over to see Anthony

to give him the good news about his old Z bed.

-Oh, hi there!

-Hello, Sarah!

-You been in the wars?

-Yes, a hip operation.

-Came out yesterday.

-Oh, really?

-Oh, well, thank you so much for seeing me.

-My pleasure.

Well, I said I would be in contact with you about your Z bed.

Did you wonder what might happen to it after we take it away?

I did indeed. I expressed...surprise,

because I know you've got your experts around the country,

but I did wonder what on earth they could do with this one.

Well, you'll be pleased to know,

lovely Norman, who is a great, normally go to guy for wood work,

said, I'd love a challenge, let me have your Z bed.

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

So here is your Z bed.

-It now looks like that.

-Oh, wow! Oh, I see!

With a top, a drawer, and, oh! And a drinks cabinet.

Drinks cabinet, yup,

and he's got all sorts of little features in it to hold the glasses.

Lovely. Love the wood. The choice of wood, yeah.

Lovely, solid oak on the top.

-Yeah.

-Well, it's definitely going places.

In fact, it's going all the way up north to a catering company,

and something to celebrate too,

I've got a little £45 windfall there for your Z bed.

So that's for you. Are you happy to take that?

Yes, thank you very much!

Thank you. That's probably £45 more than I thought!

-So that's very good. Thank you.

-As you weren't expecting that,

can I put you on the spot and say what might you do with it?

Probably go to charity, I think.

Well, that sounds very generous.

Thank you so much. I wish you happy convalescence.

-Thank you, Sarah.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

Well, the Z bed is still going places,

and it sounds like the £45 is going somewhere very special, too.

The drinks trolley cost £425 for Norman's labour and materials,

and the catering company bought it for £470,

which left a profit of £45,

which Anthony will be giving to charity.

I'll drink to that!

Sarah saved three items being discarded at the dump.

Instead of going to waste, they were renovated...

..revolutionised...

..and reinvented.

Well, with the help of my friends,

we've managed to save stuff from the skip and turn things into saleable,

stylish items, and handing over a bit of money for nothing?

Well, that is a real bonus.