Episode 11 Money for Nothing

Oh, I like the look of your rubbish.

How do you make money for nothing?

What are you dropping off? Anything exciting?

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

we throw out every year.

I quite like the look of your chair. I've not seen one like that before.

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

before they hit the skip.

I'm a passionate buyer, maker 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...

-What do you think?

-I think it's beautiful.

-I brought you my washing machine.

-Oh, wow.

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

What have you done?

..valuable...

-I love them.

-Good.

..and, let's hope, saleable items.

That is one clever sandwich.

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.

Gosh, as much as that! Oh, lovely!

Business is brisk at the Earlswood recycling centre in Surrey.

Well, I am loving being in this leafy Surrey suburb,

but with so much rubbish coming in

you might think it'd be tricky to see the wood for the trees.

But it's OK, because I've got my eye in,

and I'm going to cherry-pick the best bits.

Just as well, because, with the constant stream of drop-offs,

Sarah will need to be at the top of her gathering game.

Elvis, love a bit of Elvis down at the recycling centre.

# Uh-huh-huh! #

Time for a little less conversation and a little more finding, please.

Although some of her discoveries are a bit puzzling.

Any clever ideas what I could do with that?

-Be polite.

-No.

Stop monkeying around, there's a day of rummaging ahead.

Sarah has been given special permission to rescue rubbish,

but she needs to be quick.

Once it hits the skip, it's out of bounds.

Sarah is waiting to pounce on that perfect potential project.

And Roger has an intriguing bundle stuffed in the back of his estate.

-Oh, hello.

-Morning.

-How are you?

-All right.

Given up the surfing, then?

I've tried to give them away. We went to a surfing centre yesterday,

and he says, "I just don't want it."

Roger was trying to off-load two mouldy-looking windsurf sails

and support poles, or booms.

What kind of condition are these in?

So-so. They've been stored for quite a few years,

since my children have given up.

-Right.

-And my main thing was sailing, as opposed to windsurfing.

OK. When was the last time they were on water?

-About 15 years or so ago.

-Excellent. You've held on to them long enough.

Rather than it being thrown away, can I take it away instead?

By all means. It would be lovely for it to have another home.

This falls into the category of loads of material here

that hopefully I can use to make something out of.

Absolutely. Not a dress, though.

No dresses? I might make a dress out of it now!

Whether Sarah is planning dresses or not,

she's definitely after all that material.

If it does make something lovely,

can I come and show you what I've done with it?

By all means - my wife would love to see it.

She's an art teacher, so I'm certain it will be very artistic.

The pressure! OK, well, I will do my best by it.

Roger gives his gear one final wave.

But what does he think will happen to his aged aquatic apparatus?

I am very interested to find out what she does eventually with it.

Hopefully we'll find a new home for it

and make some dresses out of it, maybe!

Boom! What a great find.

Well, actually two booms and whatever you call that bit in there.

I love this, because it's bright, it's beautiful, it's substantial,

and there's acres of this sail fabric.

And that means huge potential to be remodelled.

A dress?

Maybe, maybe not.

In fact, I know exactly who's going to like this.

I think this might be a little cracker.

Sarah knows exactly where to send these.

If you need a bag, call Neil Wragg.

From scrap into satchels, and rags into bags, Neil is your man.

Neil uses tough and rugged materials destined for the dump

and transforms them into one-of-a-kind carry-alls

that will last a lifetime.

The sewing has really just come from

a necessity to make something better, and then it became...

..all-consuming, really, and everything I do is sewn.

I think the reason I use the salvage materials is just because it's...

I don't know, it makes it harder for myself,

but in some way that's more rewarding.

Neil loves a challenge, but will he be all at sea with these?

With one item in the bag, Sarah is on the search for a second.

Something in there.

Kate's hatchback looks full of interesting stuff.

Oh. Look at this, come here.

-Hiya.

-Hello.

Mm! What are you throwing away?

It's an old desk that I think

could be quite easily recycled in some way, but...

-You've had enough of it, have you?

-Yeah, I've had enough of it, yeah.

-Have you had it for long?

-10, 15 years, but I know it's older than that.

I reckon, looking at that...

..late '60s, very early '70s, something like that.

Yeah. I'd have thought so.

Have you got all the legs and all the bits?

All the legs are there and all the drawers are there.

This one is a double one, it's a false...

The other two are two singles and this one,

as you can see on this side,

that side is a double, this one is a double one.

Apart from two missing handles,

the desk seems to be all present and correct.

I think it's got potential to be given a new lease of life.

I think it has, too. It's just a shame.

I took it somewhere today, and they couldn't take it,

-so I'm afraid it's got to go.

-Well, can it come my way?

It can come your way, quite easily.

Oh, brilliant, well, it's got a look to it.

I'm not sure it will be everybody's cup of tea, but I'm sure

it can be remodelled and made into something fresh and appealing again.

Yeah, definitely.

-Shall I give it a go?

-Yes, why not?

-Brilliant, OK.

Well, can I come and find you

if it's transformed into something less retro,

-can I come and show you what I've done?

-Yeah.

-Brilliant.

OK, well, I shall take all of that and say, thank you very much.

You're welcome.

Sarah has her second item, but what does Kate think she'll do with it?

I'm really pleased, actually.

I think a paint job and a little bit of a revamp

and it will be something really useful to somebody.

It would make a great computer desk, actually.

Well, it's a tricky one, this one.

I think it's a desk, could be a dressing table,

it's got some style about it.

Those legs, well, they are quite cool, but the rest of it,

it's a bit hit and miss.

But something is going to have to be done to turn a profit on this.

And Sarah knows just the maker who could make that happen.

Norman Wilkinson.

Norman uses his 25 years of working with wood

to create handmade, one-of-a-kind furniture that's built to last.

If you're making a table top out of reclaimed timbers and everything,

no two tops will be the same, so it's tactile,

it's always got its own mind, it's beautiful.

I hope that people will see when they buy

that we've put our heart and soul into it

and we've put as much love as we can,

so that hopefully comes out into it.

Well, Norman, Sarah is bringing you an old desk

that needs all the love and attention you can spare.

With two items tucked away,

Sarah is looking for something to work on herself.

I can't BEAR waste.

Oh, dear!

And what delightful discards does Ann have in the back of her car?

-Excuse me. Sorry, hi there.

-Hello.

-Hi, I'm Sarah.

-I'm Ann.

How do you do? I love the look of the stuff in your boot.

-Are you moving?

-Yes, we're downsizing.

What exactly is that?

Well, it's a radiant heat lamp.

-May I take a closer look?

-Yes.

So what was it used for?

Well, it was for my mother's bad back.

This iconic-looking object was once considered a state-of-the-art

home treatment for all sorts of aches and pains.

If you put your back out in the '60s

then this is the very throwback you'd turn to.

It looks amazing. I haven't seen anything like that before.

How long do you think you've had it?

Well, it's been in my house since Mother died, which was...

She died in '89.

Right. I'm not sure it's something we use any more, is it?

I doubt it, no, I don't think

any doctor would recommend that these days.

I think its heat lamp days might be over,

but it has real decorative appeal,

so can I take it away and try and do something with it?

Well, certainly, yes, it's no use to us.

If it turns out that it can be remodelled or reworked,

may I come and show you what I've done with it?

Yes, I would be delighted.

Thanks, well, I'll keep in touch and let you know.

I think it's... I think it's hot!

While Sarah's maker's mind leaps into action,

what does Ann think will happen to her mum's old heat lamp?

I've no idea what Sarah is going to do with it.

To me, the reflectors are probably the best part.

I'd love to see what she makes of it.

I'm armed and I'm dangerous. What a fantastic-looking thing.

I mean, you wouldn't want to use it now, would you?

It's got infrared and radiant heat, fantastic styling, beautiful colour,

excellent wear, and it's going to make a fabulous -

what do you think - sofa, table?

You know what it's going to be, and it's going to be beautiful.

Sarah has her three items.

Neil will work on the sails,

Norman will try and rejuvenate the desk,

and Sarah plans to turn up the heat on the lamp.

Well, the gates are closing now, but we came, we saw and we gathered,

and I'm so pleased with the things I found here today.

There's some cracking items.

A huge amount of potential, but lots of work ahead.

The River Thames meanders peacefully through the Buckinghamshire town

of Marlow, where we find bag-maker extraordinaire Neil.

The windsurfing gear has been shipped to Marlow,

and Neil's getting a first glimpse

of the material he'll be working with.

The colours are great,

nice colours, really vibrant and loud, aren't they?

That's one way to put it, Neil.

Another might be garish, gaudy,

nightmarish, maybe.

We can keep some of the writing...

..keep some of the stitching, keep the lairy colours.

This is nice.

Neil's really got the wind in his sails now,

and Sarah's on the blower to see what he has in mind.

Hello, Sarah.

-Hi, Neil, how are you doing?

-I'm very good, I'm very good,

I'm surrounded by colour.

It's bright, it's fluorescent, it's definitely usable.

It's clean. I love them, actually.

Fantastic news. Have you got an idea for it?

Because I'm thinking utility or something really useful out of them.

OK, well, there's stacks of material.

There's nice writing on it, there's nice patterns.

The colours are huge. It's a big '80s revival thing.

Maybe we could do some big, chunky zip sports holdalls,

-what do you think?

-They sound good.

You're going to need your shades for these bags, I think.

Sarah loves Neil's idea of sports holdalls,

but, with all that material, how many are we talking?

20?

Some of the fabric is not too good.

Oh. Ten?

Some of it is really, really nice.

Oh, 15? Come on, Neil, how many?

Two big holdalls.

Two?

Exactly how big are they going to be?

What kind of price would you put on that?

Um, I think, for you...

um...£100 per bag.

We can make them nice and big,

chunky zips, keep some of the lettering.

They should look pretty good and have, certainly, a wow factor.

Brilliant, go for that, I love a wow factor.

I hope it's all plain sailing and I'll speak to you soon.

-Thank you.

-Bye.

-Bye-bye.

He's itching to get stitching, so what's the plan, Neil?

Because these colours are so vibrant,

this is not a bag you're going to be inconspicuous with,

so it's got to be the right shape, I think, so if it was square,

the zip there, handles there.

I'm just trying to strike a balance

between a good-looking but very useful bag,

something that you can wear rather than just carry.

So does that mean the big, square look is out?

So instead of the ordinary square box shape,

I think if we have some curves to it, curves are always good,

so if we get some rounded corners,

and if I make the zip open-ended

then the whole thing opens up and you can see what you packed.

Neil aims to produce two large sports bags

at a total cost of £200.

He is aiming for '80s retro-chic,

but could these turn out to be a Technicolor catastrophe?

Is Sarah off her trolley, or can her desk be saved from destruction?

She's in East Sussex, delivering the desk to Norman.

How are you feeling, Norman?

Always anxious.

I think that's the only way to describe it.

Well, I know Norman loves furniture.

He likes solid oak, he likes things that are handmade,

that are substantial, and this is made of chipboard.

This could be fun.

Norman!

The moment of truth.

Well, this is a little beauty, isn't it?

Sometimes Norman is so hard to read.

-Are you underwhelmed?

-Whelmed is not the word.

It's not love at first sight,

but Sarah is a determined matchmaker.

But Norman is wondering how many matches he could make

out of all this wood.

There are hidden benefits.

-It comes with legs.

-Fantastic.

You've almost saved the day with these, haven't you?

Absolutely super, anyway.

I have got a plan, but I'm not sure if you're going to like it.

Better make it a good plan, Sarah.

He's armed...with a leg.

I was thinking about...

..removing the carcass and using the drawers

-and the styling to make a new piece of furniture.

-OK.

Maybe...introducing brand-new material, like ply.

-Ply, as in...

-Quality ply,

the kind of stuff you want to look at, just the way it is.

-OK.

-I was thinking perhaps use the two small drawers

to make a sleek, slim-line desk.

-Fancy it?

-Yeah, I think we can have a go at it.

-What are you going to do with these, then?

-I don't know.

I think these will have to be a surprise.

I think we need to sleep on it and decide where we're going.

A revamp of the desk and a surprise thrown in.

Sounds expensive.

Is there a price that you can put on it?

I reckon something like that will cost,

to get it all singing and dancing, 395.

Perfect. I was hoping it wouldn't go above a four,

so 395 is brilliant.

-Well done.

-On the money.

-On the money, always on the money.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-You be good.

-Bye.

This could be quite a tricky project.

Norman's not really a ply guy,

so for this job he'll be reaching for the sharpest tool in the box -

his own brain.

Using a new material is always fun cos you've got to learn about it,

so, yeah, it will be a good one, but hopefully get it right.

Well, he was never going to love it, but I think he's embraced it.

I think a ply exterior is going to make it look really cool

and after he's finished with it, we're all going to love it.

Sarah has agreed a budget of £395 for Norman to transform the desk.

But he is using a completely new material.

So this project could be all ply in the sky.

With her team of crafty creatives up and running,

Sarah's at home in West Sussex.

She's hoping to bring a little sunshine to the heat lamp.

Bramble's intrigued.

Well, as a piece of 1950s design, this is beautiful.

I love the shape of it.

But as a health and safety thing - what a nightmare!

I mean, can you imagine having that in your house today?

It was a radiant heat lamp,

so this would have been tinging when it was hot.

So the best thing we can do with this

is make it into lighting because its style is fantastic.

It just needs a bit of careful rethinking.

First things first - strip it down to basics.

Well, I've set aside the electrics to concentrate on the aesthetics.

I want it to be crisp and colourful,

so I'm going to polish it up and then give it a lick of paint.

First of all, though, I'm going to clean up this interior

with some car polish, the kind of abrasive stuff

which normally takes off a layer of paint

but should bring it up really well.

It's not looking a lot better yet

but it's certainly getting the dirt off.

With the inner surface polished up nicely,

Sarah's planning to give the exterior a bit of a paint job.

Well, I've given this a really good prepping,

it's polished on the inside and I've used some lightly abrasive sandpaper

just to take the edge off this, so it's keyed, and hopefully

that means my spray paint is going to stick to it.

There are pros and cons to spraying outside.

Good ventilation is a huge plus.

But you do have to watch out for insects getting stuck on your paint.

After leaving the paint to dry for a few hours,

Sarah has to put it all back together.

It won't be much of a lamp without fittings,

so Sarah has bought a lighting kit.

I've chosen a bright, royal blue coloured flex,

which is an opposing colour to the yellow,

so both together look beautiful.

Good chrome fitting, so I'm going to slide all of this

through the existing holes and wire up the plug.

Sarah spent £22.95 on spray paint

and her lighting kit.

She's hoping to turn her new gold lamp into a sold lamp.

In Marlow, Neil's blueprint of his sports bag design

is ready to make the leap from paper to fabric.

So the bag is going to be... I don't know, what, sort of...

..that-ish, like-ish, like that.

OK.

Bigger than that. Right.

Blimey, whatever happened to measuring twice?

I've got one shape drawn so far and that's it.

So the rest of it I'm just going to wing it and see how it works.

Hopefully there's enough fabric to make the odd mistake.

You're not filling us with confidence here, Neil.

I'm just going to start cutting.

The pieces that Neil is about to cut will form the ends of the bag.

These will determine the entire shape of the holdall,

so these first cuts are critical.

Ooh, you can cut the tension with...

..a sharp pair of scissors.

That's a good start, at least after the first cut,

it hasn't just disintegrated. So, so far so good.

Yeah, a disintegrating bag certainly wouldn't be top

of my Christmas list, Neil.

We've got some ends now, two ends.

Loads of colour.

The length will be determined by the zips that I've got lying about,

so I'm going to need to find what chunky zips I've got first.

So, these are the ones that I'm going to use.

So I think these are 30 centimetre zips...

No, much longer than that.

57 centimetre zips.

With the chunky zips sourced and the length of the bags decided,

Neil can cut out the remaining panels.

That's all the cutting done. I think it's now time to sew.

Indoors, Neil's sewing machine is threaded up and ready to roll.

Right, these are ready-made handles.

The first task is to make handles for the bag ends.

And the windsurfer harness seems to fit the bill.

You've got to hope that the fabric's going to hold it, actually.

Well, it's endured some hefty wind in its time, so here's hoping.

It doesn't flow particularly easily through the machine.

It's a bit sticky. It's not the neatest so far.

Phrases like "not the neatest"

aren't what we want to hear at this stage, Neil.

There's a great big thick piece of webbing stuck in the middle that

that machine won't go through.

And this doesn't sound good either.

Neil's having to switch to his most powerful machine.

Come on, mate, you can do it.

Yeah, no problem.

Phew!

Neil averts disaster and is still the stitching master.

In East Sussex,

Norman's formulating a master plan

to give this desk a top drawer refurbishment.

Going to use birch ply, so it's going to be very, very contemporary.

We're going to lose this drawer.

We're going to put the three together,

make a nice box for it, then put it on some legs.

So, yeah, fantastic. Can't wait.

Norman picks out the drawers that will make up the new desk

and puts the old carcass to one side,

as Sarah wants a shiny new birch ply frame.

Birch ply is made up of thin layers of - can you guess?

Birch, yeah.

It's a very strong material indeed,

so it's ideal for Norman's new desk.

It's got quite a nice grain going through it.

It's got a nice pattern here.

We just need to decide which part we're going to use for the top.

We decide which side, you can see here,

it's got these little biscuit things they cut in.

So we can't use that section

but I think the other side is the better one.

Before he starts cutting, time for a few careful measurements.

Beautiful.

Birch ply isn't cheap, so Norman doesn't want any mistakes.

You know the old saying, don't you?

Measure once, cut twice.

Oh, give over, Norman! Stop mucking about.

I've marked what I think should be right,

so we are now going to cut it. But I'm over-cutting,

because I've got to over-cut the first one, then cut the second one,

and hopefully get it as precise as I can.

To make a neater join,

Norman is cutting the edges at 45 degrees using a circular saw.

A spare piece of wood clamped to the ply

keeps the saw cutting in a straight line.

So that's our first 45 degrees cut,

so that will go there,

the next one will go down on there

and hopefully they will all line up and we'll get a nice, super joint.

Norman uses his table saw to add a groove to the drawer sides.

This is known as rebating, and the base of the drawer

will slide into these grooves for a tighter fit.

So we've done the rebating for the rails, the sides and everything.

That will pin in there

and then you can see everything then will go in line,

so you can see all the nice birch ply around it.

The drawers, we'll paint them and then decide on the legs.

Just do the last few little bits, then glue it up

and then hopefully we're rocking and rolling and it will look fantastic.

The new carcass is taking shape.

But with a decision still to be made on the legs,

there's plenty to get on with.

In West Sussex, Sarah's putting the finishing touches to the desk light.

Well, that's all come together.

Better find out if it works.

Sarah's tricky task was to retain the retro charm of the heat lamp

whilst making it a thoroughly modern piece of lighting.

Will the end result be dazzling?

Well, that is a bright light.

Sarah's polishing job has certainly paid off.

And the yellow paint contrasts smartly with the blue braided flex.

The light has been PAT tested and checked by a qualified electrician

to ensure it meets all UK safety standards.

It might not be giving off much heat now,

but the reflected light and buttercup gold

will radiate warmth into any home.

That is really bright, but definitely working.

And that yellow, that's a winner.

Ann's old heat lamp was about to get the elbow.

I'm not sure it's something we use any more, is it?

No, I don't think any doctor would recommend that these days.

From treating cold shoulders to getting the cold shoulder,

its final stop was going to be a red-hot furnace,

but Sarah only had one thought in mind.

Can I take it away and try and do something with it?

Certainly, yes. It's no use to us.

And with new electrics, a polish and a paint job,

Sarah has brought the shine back to this forgotten appliance.

The lamp was bought by a vintage and industrial lighting shop

in Fowey, Cornwall, and owner Sinead thinks her customers will love it.

Well, we just love the colours in this lamp.

And, for our customers, they're always looking for something new

and different, and we think this really hits the spot.

Sarah's done a wonderful job in creating something vibrant,

unique and special that will really set off any home.

With the heat lamp sold,

Sarah's in Surrey to visit Ann and give her the good news.

-Hello there.

-Hello.

Hi, Ann. How are you doing?

-Very well, thank you.

-Have you settled into your new home?

Yes, we're enjoying it very much.

Because I remember you'd been in your old house for over 50 years,

-is that right?

-Correct, yes.

So a huge amount of things you were trying to sort out when you left.

Lots to throw out, yes.

And that's where that heat lamp came from,

-cos I think that was originally your mother's, wasn't it?

-It was.

It's been in our loft for quite a while.

Well, it was a great, stylish thing

so I was really pleased to see it when you turned up.

But since I've taken it away,

-have you thought what might happen to it?

-Absolutely, yes.

I loved the reflector but I don't know what you've done with it.

I took one look at it and thought it would make really lovely lighting.

So it's something I worked on myself.

-Here's some pictures to show you how it ended up.

-Oh, good.

I hope you like things that are bright

-cos your heat lamp now looks like that.

-Oh, goodness!

I took it back to its metal, just sanded it down,

and then repainted it in a very bright yellow.

I don't know what came over me, but I woke up that morning

-and just thought it had to be yellow.

-Yes.

What do you think about that?

That's great.

I think that's marvellous.

It definitely has a new lease of life.

It cleaned up beautifully and it's bright and it sold

to a shop in Cornwall who specialises in lighting.

So, I've got some profit from the sale.

Oh, that's exciting.

There's £2.05

and another 80 there.

Goodness!

That's much more than I ever dreamed of.

Really? Oh, good, I like a surprise.

So what might you do with that?

Well, I shall have to ask my husband.

I think we'll probably buy something for the flat, yeah.

Fantastic. Well, that would be great.

Something from the loft, if it furnishes your house here,

then I think that would be lovely.

And I'm so pleased you've settled in.

-Yes, well...

-See you at the recycling centre.

-Yes.

-Thank you so much.

-That's super.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

Well, isn't that great?

The heat lamp is buying house-warming presents.

Doesn't get better than that.

Sarah spent a total of £67.95 on the lamp.

It sold for £150,

which left a profit of £82.05.

Sarah's back in Marlow.

She's keen to discover if Neil's whipped up a storm

with the windsurf sails.

Well, this could be really exciting.

I'm back to see Neil and he's had a proper look at those windsurf sails.

He says the colours are fantastic, they're bang on trend,

and really fashionable to make bags out of.

But have you seen the shirts he wears?

This could be just a bit over the top.

There's normal over the top and then there's Neil's over the top.

I think they've turned out pretty amazing - utility sports bags,

something definitely very unique.

I love them. I hope she will.

The windsurf sail material was so tough

it almost got the better of Neil's sewing machines.

But not quite.

Not only has Neil whipped up two bright, bold and, dare I say,

eye-catching bags...

..he's invented a time machine to take us back to the '80s.

Embracing the intense colour scheme,

Neil has stitched contrasting panels together

to create a daring retro design.

An old harness that came with the sails has been repurposed

to make sturdy handles and Neil has also used up more of the material

to double-skin the bags, making them weatherproof.

They're certainly vibrant, but Neil was hoping for bang on trend.

I'll let you be the judge of that, Sarah.

-Hiya.

-Hi.

Oh, my word. What have you been up to?

Put your sunglasses on. We've got an '80s cocktail of sports bags.

They are really, really cool. They don't look like

they were a windsurfer until you look at them properly.

I think they've got Neil written all over them.

They're really exciting. They are summery, enthusiastic.

-Oh! Fantastic.

-You can see what's inside.

-Amazing.

-You wouldn't normally put all those colours together

in one bag, would you? So they are quite different.

Different? I'll say!

Not only has Neil created bags that will stick out in any crowd,

but he's managed to stick to the £200 budget.

I am over the moon with those and I'll let you know where they go

because they're definitely going places.

-They're going places.

-Thanks so much. Nice to see you.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

It was slightly different.

I've never worked with sails before, actually.

So it was unusual, but actually quite enjoyable.

I take it all back. Did I say I was worried about his fashion sense?

Neil has created something fantastic here.

You're not going to lose these at a festival.

And selling them - well, that should just be plain sailing.

Oh, Sarah!

Languishing in Roger's garden shed for 15 years,

the windsurfing sails were destined for the skip until Sarah intervened.

Nobody uses them any more, so sadly this is where they're coming.

It took all of Neil's needlework nous

to turn this unlikely material into two sellable holdalls.

And through some internet magic, Sarah's found buyers for the bags.

Now, she's heading to Roger with the good news.

-Hello there.

-Good morning.

-How are you doing?

-Very well. Lovely day.

So you've landed in your new spot?

Oh, yeah, we just can't believe where we are. It's magic.

It looks lovely, doesn't it?

I was so excited when I saw you at the tip with your windsurfer sails.

-What would you have done with them?

-Well, you can make other things.

You can certainly get jackets made out of them,

and the other thing is people make carrier bags,

sort of put all your sailing kit in, and things like that.

Oh, well, kit bags, that's a great idea. That's the one we went with.

I work with a fantastic bag-maker called Neil and he says,

if he can get a needle through it, he will make something out of it

that becomes useful and practical again.

So I've got pictures here. Here is what your sails now look like.

Oh, I say, that's amazing.

-He made two...

-Aren't they brilliant?

..huge sail bags out of your windsurf sails.

I'm so impressed.

He's put in practical, big, chunky zips, he's used recycled straps,

and he has used every part of them that he could.

He's got little windows made out of the windows of the windsurfer,

and they have got a whole new lease of life.

-Oh, superb.

-Do you like them?

-That's so brilliant.

-Yeah.

-People just love them.

They sold instantly. And there's a profit of £125 here

-for your old sails.

-Good grief!

Thank you so much.

So, do you have a thought about where that money might go?

I know exactly where it's going. I've got a duathlon that I'm doing

on Sunday and this is going for Cancer Research.

-Well...

-That's where it's going. Thank you so much.

I'm so pleased to hear that.

Lots of luck in the duathlon and thank you,

these have brought joy to everyone who's looked at them,

-and a great cause for that. Good luck.

-Thank you so much.

-Great to catch up.

-Brilliant.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

Well, I'm really pleased that Roger liked those bags as much as I did.

I mean, how couldn't he?

They've set sail and they're going on a new journey.

Neil made the holdalls for £200

and they sold for £325,

leaving Roger a profit of £125

to donate to charity.

With a tidy profit for the windsurf sails in the bag,

Sarah's in East Sussex to see if Norman's conquered the desk.

Admittedly I dropped off a desk to Norman that lacked character.

In fact, it lacked everything.

I threw him in at the deep end and now I'm here to see if he can swim.

No sign of armbands.

Looks like Norman is still afloat.

We're working with a different material than we normally do,

so, yeah, we learn along the way.

But, yeah, it went together in the end quite well.

Sarah brought Norman a dated and uninspiring desk

with zero style and precious little potential.

But what will she be taking away?

Norman has been busy with not one, but two pieces of furniture.

He's built a sleek birch plywood desk

based around the three old drawers.

The original handles have been replaced with birch ply

and Norman's muted colour scheme

emphasises the contemporary feel of the piece.

And since he couldn't decide what to do with the legs,

Norman crafted a little companion piece.

The rectangular table top is an ideal home for the old desk legs

and makes a perfect coffee table.

But what will Sarah think?

-Norman.

-Hello, you.

They're your two bits.

-No way.

-Yeah.

-No way.

-We've gone...

We've gone slightly different than we normally do. A bit modern.

Oh, Norman, who knew you had that in you?

Look how cool and crisp it is.

I can't believe it. In my head, that desk was deeply unattractive

and I can't see a shred of it left.

So, you've used the drawers and the legs.

We've used the drawers and legs and the rest we threw away.

-It's really cool. I love it.

-Fantastic.

I'm glad you liked it. That makes it all worthwhile.

It doesn't look like any of the usual stuff that I expect to see

coming out of your workshop. It's really modern, on trend, edgy.

Edgy? Fantastic.

So, re-use of drawers, re-use of legs,

a couple of fine pieces of furniture,

and budget-wise, 395 for those two?

Er, no. We're going to be under budget on this one.

We're going to do you the two for 350.

OK? As they say, happy days.

Sarah's got herself a two-for-one bargain

of cutting-edge contemporary furniture,

and with less work than anticipated,

Norman's managed to squeeze this job in under budget.

-Blown me away, really.

-Fantastic. That's what I like to see.

Well, you need to blow yourself out of the door now.

-Right, get it packed up.

-I will.

-I'll tell you when I've sold it.

-See you later.

-Bye.

-Bye-bye.

I think Sarah's happy, you know?

Different direction for us, bit of modern.

Really enjoyed doing it, working with a different material.

So, it's down to Sarah now to sell it.

So, I think, you know, happy days, we've done it.

Sink or swim? Course he can swim.

That's a masterstroke from Norman. beautiful pieces of furniture

using all of the good bits of that tired old desk.

Destined to be broken up and reprocessed,

Kate's old desk earned a reprieve when Sarah stepped in.

What are you throwing away?

It's an old desk that I think

could be quite easily recycled in some way.

Kate was hopeful it could be turned into something useful.

It would make a great computer desk, actually.

Good guess, Kate.

But in the hands of master craftsman Norman...

..the dark and old-fashioned desk was replaced

by two highly desirable pieces of furniture.

And Sarah managed to sell them to a furniture shop in Swindon

owned by brothers Will and Tom.

Our customers love this sort of,

you know, quirky, handmade, one-off pieces.

It's only been in the shop for about an hour,

we've already had a few people looking at it and wanting to get it,

so I'm sure it will sell quickly.

Sarah is in Surrey to show Kate what's happened to her old desk.

-Hello there.

-Hello. How are you?

-I'm fine, thank you.

Now, I'm seeing over your shoulder

-a beautifully upcycled chest of drawers. Was that you?

-That was me.

But you hadn't had a go at the desk?

No, I honestly didn't know what to do with it.

-It was quite a tricky desk to re-purpose.

-Yeah.

I'm really lucky because I work with some people

who are never short of ideas

and it actually went to East Sussex and a chap called Norman.

And he took one look at it and said, "There's things I can do with it,

"I'm not going to use all of it, but I'm going to make the most of it."

So I'm not sure you'll even recognise this,

-but your desk now looks like this.

-Oh, wow!

So, what he did was use all the drawers out of it

and use the legs to make a new desk and a table.

So that's what it looks like.

Nothing like the original.

Nothing at all like the original.

So it has sold and I've got £40 profit here for you.

-Oh, brilliant.

-So, there you go.

-Thank you very much.

So, what might you do with that?

Upcycling materials, or something else?

No, I think I'll probably take my friend out for lunch.

Fantastic. Well, I'll let Norman know he's taking you out for lunch.

-You have a lovely time.

-Say thank you.

-I will, I will.

-Great, nice to see you.

-Thank you very much. Lovely to see you again.

-Have a lovely lunch. Bye-bye.

-Thanks a lot. Bye.

Well, I think Kate's keen on the transformation

and Norman has certainly delivered one there.

It cost £350 to transform the old desk,

and with a sale of £390,

Kate is left with a £40 profit.

The '60s heat lamp is now a bang up-to-date desk light.

The windsurf sails became two on-trend holdalls,

and the dark wood desk

was transformed into cutting-edge furniture.

Well, it takes a lot of hard work to make tip finds fantastic again

but Neil and Norman certainly managed it.

That's three items they've saved from landfill

that now have a beautiful bright future.