Episode 12 Money for Nothing

Ooh, 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 over 20 million tonnes of household waste

thrown out by us 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've brought you my washing machine.

-Oh, wow!

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

What have you done?

..valuable...

Oh, amazing!

..and, hopefully, 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!

Today, Sarah is in the Earlswood Recycling Centre in Surrey.

Well, the gate's open, the gloves are on, the sun's out.

Game on for getting rubbish.

With the aim of salvaging three interesting objects to upcycle,

Sarah is alert to every opportunity.

He's got a boot full over there.

But before you decide that you fancy a slice of the action,

Sarah's been granted special permission

to rummage the rubbish here.

Well, if I don't find anything today, I'm going to be toast.

But is there anything in the back of Jeremy's car

that could help Sarah make some cash?

-Hello, there.

-Oh, hello.

-Hi, I'm Sarah.

-Jeremy.

-Jeremy, hi, there. How do you do?

What a sweet little chair. That's got some age to it, hasn't it?

-It has indeed.

-Have you had it long?

My mum's had it for probably about 40, 50 years.

Really? So, did she have that from new?

-Oh, I don't know.

-Do you think it's older than that?

It's always been in the family.

-It's always been around when I've been around.

-Really?

-Yeah.

Jeremy inherited the chair when his mum passed away.

But an impending downsize means keeping it is no longer an option.

I'm moving to a small flat and it doesn't fit in

with the type of furniture I'm going to buy.

-So, it's really sort of...

-Surplus, is it?

-Unfortunately.

And it's a bit outdated for what I want.

It does have a retro look about it.

I think that's probably why I really like the look of it.

That sort of shell back and the petiteness of it,

it's just not like the modern stuff, is it?

Any chance I could help you pull it out to have a proper look at it?

By all means, yeah.

Lending a helping hand from the back-seat of the car

is Jeremy's daughter, Poppy.

Thank you for helping. So, what are we looking at?

'50s, do you think, or '60s, something like that?

-I reckon it's '50s.

-Could I take it away and give it a go?

-By all means.

-I'd love to keep in touch if that would be all right.

-OK.

-And I will have a good go

-at making it useful and beautiful again.

-OK.

-Thank you ever so much. Really good to meet you, Jeremy. Bye-bye.

-Bye.

As Sarah whisks the little chair off to start its new journey,

how is Jeremy feeling?

My mum would be absolutely delighted

to know it's going to have a new lease of life and, you know,

it is a very pretty chair and if I had a bigger house

or a different style, I think I would have kept it.

Well, it's great to see something like this turning up at the tip

because I think this little chair

would have been an absolute gem when it was new.

It would have been shell pink, 1950s styling and lovely.

At the moment, it's looking a little bit tired.

But because it's so little, it means it can go into any size house.

You don't have those massive ones

that only people with big houses can use. So this is a good find.

In the right hands, with a whole new look,

I think it could be really exciting.

It's a bit off-colour at the moment

but Sarah knows who to turn to to get this chair back in the pink.

Simion Hawtin-Smith has been making waves in the upholstery world,

mixing classic techniques with modern, fresh design.

His passion is to give old furniture new life

and a chance to be loved again.

I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to chairs.

I kind of need to learn sometimes to say, "This job is now done."

People come back and they pick it up

and they're like, "Wow, is that the same chair?"

That makes it all worth it, all the long hours worth it.

Can Simion give this small chair a big transformation?

With the armchair snaffled up, Sarah's back on the prowl.

Do you like the tip? No, you'd better stay in there.

I know it's good here. See you later.

No luck there. But is there anything interesting

sitting in the boot of Maureen's car?

-Oh, hi, I'm Sarah.

-Hello.

Hi, there. What are you throwing away?

These things. Including a bucket and an old grate.

I love your bucket.

-How long have you had that?

-I've had it donkey's years.

It belonged to my husband, and it might even have been his father's.

It has a really old look to it.

Some of them are riveted.

It's a pail, isn't it?

-It's a very sweet little thing.

-Yes, not a bucket, a pail.

-I don't know what the difference is. Do you know the difference?

-No.

No, me neither, Maureen.

They are things that people really like at the moment.

I don't know why we suddenly like metal and galvanised stuff

but it has a real charm to it. And I think because it's so little,

it's even more charming.

-Please may I have it?

-Of course. Yes, you're welcome.

May I come and find you if I make something

-and show you what I've done with it?

-I'd be very interested.

-Yes.

-Lovely! That is one of the smallest things I've ever collected

and one of the cutest, so, thank you so much

-and I will be back in touch if that's all right?

-Yes, that's fine.

-Have a lovely day.

-Thank you. Bye-bye.

Sarah scuttles off with her latest find.

But what does Maureen think will be created from it?

I have no idea.

I can't see anything other than using it as a bucket

or as it's probably properly called, a pail.

I think it might be its size that makes this bucket so sweet.

It might not be your cup of tea

but there is something about this interior,

all the signs of use and this lovely wear on the outside

that just makes it appealing.

It might not look much now but it's going to be beautiful.

Trust me.

Sarah's sending the bucket and spades

to a tried and tested craftsman...

..Guy Trench.

Guy's love for lighting is electrifying.

Using salvaged materials,

Guy can transform even the rustiest mix of metals

into truly one-of-a-kind lights.

Everything in life I've done is because I like doing it.

Whether it's made a lot of money or made no money,

it's because I like to do something.

Not only do I love doing it, but it's different every single day.

I think my job really is the best job in the world.

Sarah's hoping that Guy's just the man to see beyond the pail.

With two objects in line for a revamp,

Sarah's scouting the skips for something

she can breathe new life into.

Now, I know it's all about cutting back but, seriously, guys,

there aren't going to be any trees left in Surrey!

David has a boot full of unwanted objects and Sarah is in like a shot.

-Hello, there.

-Oh, hello. Yes.

-Hello. How are you?

-I'm Sarah. Hi, there. Let me de-glove.

-David.

David. Hi, there. How do you do? That's not going in the tip, is it?

Well, it is because it fell off the wall and it broke the frame.

-May I have a look at it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-So...

I think that's a beautiful picture.

-Have you had it long?

-It was my grandfather's picture.

He loved the Lake District

and he was holidaying in Grasmere and that is Easedale Tarn.

The wonderful thing about old paintings is there's always the hope

of discovering a forgotten masterpiece.

Just imagine if this was by Constable or Turner!

Do you know who it's by or is it signed, or have you...?

It's named on the back, if we can find it.

It's...WL Turner.

Hmm.

Hang on! Did David say Turner?

JMW Turner sells for millions.

Oh, WL Turner.

Oh, well. Never mind.

Nobody in the family wants it.

-Right.

-I can't pass it on.

I cannot see that being crushed.

I mean, I think the light on those hills is just beautiful.

-Yes.

-If you're going to be throwing it away, can I take it?

-You can.

-Can I come and find you if I find it a new home

-or can do something with it?

-Yes, tell me.

We'd love to hear what happens to it because one loves these things

and they're part of the family history

but one has to let them go and it's murder.

That has made my day. It's a lovely thing to find.

So, thank you so much and I'll come and find you.

-Thank you.

-Have a good day.

-Bye now.

The landscape has come within a brushstroke of being destroyed.

Is David hopeful for the painting's future?

There's hope for it.

It'll cost of a little bit of money to repair that frame.

But if she's in love with the picture,

we'd be delighted for her to hang onto it and give it a new home.

You always dream of finding a Turner at the tip, don't you?

OK, it's not by the real Turner but a fair hand has done that painting.

It's tricky to get mist to look like that

and I think they've done a really good job on it.

It's looking a little glossy,

so I don't know if it's been touched up at any time,

and the frame is certainly not doing it any favours but that is a beauty.

So glad I was here to find it.

That makes three items successfully saved from the skips.

What will Simion have in store for this petite seat?

Will the bucket and spades test Guy's mettle?

And Sarah is hoping to turn out a masterpiece

from the old oil painting.

Well, there have been times today when it's felt like quite hard work,

finding things amongst the trash.

But I think we've gathered some great things.

Huge potential, lots of hard work to come.

I'm well up for the challenge.

Sarah's in Manchester.

She's bringing the pink armchair to Simion's upholstery studio,

close to the city centre.

I've seen a picture of the chair

but you never know really what it's going to be like until it turns up.

But, hopefully, the picture's done it justice

and we'll be to do it justice as well.

The wheels haven't come off yet, but it was close.

I've brought this chair to Simion

because I think he's going to give it the update that it needs

and send it off in a new direction.

Not quite sure what that'll be.

Got a few ideas and I'm looking forward to hearing his.

That sounds like a big challenge on its way down the corridor

in the guise of a small armchair.

-Simion.

-Hey, Sarah, how are you? You OK?

-Really good. How are you doing?

-All right. What have you got here then?

Small and beautiful. What do you think?

-It's small.

-Get it up on here. Let's have a proper look.

It's not the heaviest chair I've ever come across

which makes me wonder about its quality

but it's definitely got some '50s charm, what do you think?

-Is it '50s?

-It might be later than that to me.

I've had a proper look at it. Underneath is often quite telling.

-So, I'm thinking maybe it's a '70s...

-Yeah?

-Shall we have a look?

-Certainly retro. What, take it apart?

-Well, we could.

-Yeah.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

That's bold.

It barely through the door and he's ripping it to bits.

The springs are all in really good condition.

It looks like quite a modern spring unit,

so I think it is about '60s, '70s,

I think, but based on a kind of '50s style, kind of thing.

So, I was wondering if we could go for something really glamorous.

Big scarves, tassels, earrings, sunglasses, you know?

Try and make it look glamorous.

Well, how about, we keep this kind of shape to the back,

this fluted kind of shell back style of it,

and then we maybe change the seat a little bit?

-Yep.

-So, we don't have the piping here.

We could have, like, a more rounded seat at the front,

and then with your scarf idea,

maybe we can put the detailing in the piping...

-That would be good.

-And maybe down the back of the chair?

Tassels along here.

Not sure what colour yet. We'll tie it in with your scarf idea, maybe.

OK. How much?

I'm thinking maybe budget of sort of 500-550.

I was hoping it might start with a four,

but, you know, if it has to be,

the lower end of the five would be good.

I love this chair. I love this project. Let's go 495.

-Yeah?

-You legend.

-OK.

-OK.

-Give me a shout.

-Cool.

I want to make it into a real statement chair,

so I want to use some amazing fabric on it

that's really going to make it stand out.

Having said that, it could be difficult to keep within the budget,

but I am going to do my utmost to make sure we do.

Well, it sounds like we're going off in the right direction.

Simion's got great ideas for that chair.

There's a bit of budget left on it,

but it's going to look really pretty.

Simion has a budget of £495

to squeeze his big ideas onto this small chair.

Will the end result be fabulous or frightful?

While Simion gets stuck into the seat,

Sarah has sent the bucket and spades to Guy at his workshop in Essex.

Right, what have we got here? We've got a little coal shovel,

or an ash shovel.

Got a bit of age to it.

This one's a lot bigger. Same sort of thing.

The bucket is quite old, probably sort of circa...1930s.

It was used probably in the old days,

the Edwardians putting their ash out of the fire into it.

And then modern-day man has used it for cement.

Well, that's the price of progress, Guy.

Sarah's eager to hear what Guy's quirky imagination can come up with

and is giving him a call.

-Guy, hi, it's Sarah.

-Oh, hi, Sarah. I've just got your beautiful bucket.

-Not very big, is it?

-No, it's quite a small bucket.

I've had a couple of ideas about it.

Maybe desk lamp to hanging pendant light,

but I just wondered what you thought about it.

Yeah, it could be a pendant very easily.

It could be on sort of a sweeping arm coming out.

Cut the bucket in half and we've got two uplighters or downlighters.

And if you really want to be really creative,

we thought about putting a bulb in the bottom of the bucket,

put a Perspex top that sits in there

sort of three quarters of the way down,

and paint the Perspex a sort of orangey red-y colour,

then put coals on top,

and it looks like it's got sort of got burning coals going on it,

and then have a post that comes up out of the middle of the bucket

to a BC fitting that you could put a shade on,

and then we could weld the spade to the post,

it will look like it's digging the coals out.

Well, that's what I'd call a bucket list.

And it's up to Sarah to choose.

I reckon we might have to go for something more commercial

that we have got a wider audience for,

-so the uplighters or downlighters, they sound fab.

-Yeah.

Do you have a price in mind for a pair?

I would think £75 each

would be a fairly decent price for you.

-That sounds great.

-Lovely. OK, well, we'll do our very best for you.

I'm looking forward to seeing it, Guy. That's lovely. Catch up soon.

-OK, bye.

-Thank you, bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

The boss has decided.

Guy's elaborate glowing coal light idea

has been extinguished in favour of two half-bucket wall lights.

I think she's sort of right. Uplighter or a downlighter,

it doesn't matter which way you want to put it.

I think that will have more success in sort of selling it.

I think it will look great when we're finished with it.

Guy's budget is £150,

but he'll only get one chance to split the bucket.

In West Sussex,

Sarah has some detective work to do on the oil painting.

From the inscription on the back, she knows it's by WL Turner,

but who was he?

And what is Sarah planning to do with his painting?

Well, I've had a chance to have a better look at this picture

and I really like it.

The frame is still dreadful but there is enough information

on the back, so there's plenty to go on.

I'll just see if he's painted anything else.

OK, so heaps of results for William Lakin Turner,

an English landscape artist.

That looks like him.

Ooh! And there's some very similar paintings.

It seems that Turner, he's painted loads,

they all look like they're the Lake District.

Really ethereal, misty scenes, quite dark.

But actually enchanting, they're beautiful.

All in better frames than this one.

Sarah's really got it in for that frame.

It sounds like she's thinking about selling the painting.

Replacing the frame could make it more attractive to a buyer,

but will also eat into any potential profit.

So, looking at the ones that are on the internet and this one,

I'd say ours is pretty good.

I think we've got a good, strong scene. It's named as well,

and when you can name a picture and you can actually place it,

that adds an extra element. It's all about the provenance,

and we've got a signature, we've got a name, we know it's Easedale Tarn.

But there's a massive variation between the prices

that some of his paintings have historically sold for,

so some of them are a few pounds

and some of them are a lot more than that.

What I don't know is where that fits in the scale

of how his paintings sell.

Sarah wants a second opinion

and is taking the painting to a local auction house,

where auctioneer Jonathan Pratt is on hand to give his advice.

He was actually a very well-known artist, he was a Royal Academician.

This is his address, funnily enough, this is where he lived.

I think, at the time, he would have been living around here.

Early 20th century, he lived in Keswick.

He moved around a little bit,

but, you know, it may need a little bit of work but it's not too bad.

It's a perfect object for selling at auction.

That is fantastic news.

Would you sell it here, is it good enough to go through here?

-Course I can, yeah.

-Really?

-Absolutely.

-Excellent.

I suppose you could say there's been

a certain correction to values of Victorian art,

so something like this may have been worth maybe more 10, 15 years ago,

but it's a titled scene, it's oil on canvas,

and the condition's actually OK.

I mean, I was worried about the frame.

Is it something I should reframe before it comes into auction,

or is it all right like that?

Is it worth spending any money on it?

-No.

-Great.

-You could sell this unframed.

-It's a great thing.

I'm so pleased that you think it's all right to sell.

-I really like it.

-Yeah, I do, too.

I hope it does well,

because it would be great to raise some money from it.

It's been the cheapest of makeovers.

Sarah hasn't spent a penny.

The painting is heading to auction,

but of course there's no guarantee it will sell.

In Manchester, Simion is about to get started

on his retro glamour makeover of the little pink armchair.

If everything goes to plan with the makeover of this chair,

we want it to look like 1940s ad execs would be sitting in it

sipping cocktails, if you know what I mean.

We do know what you mean, Simion,

but before we break out the glasses and cocktail shaker,

there's a serious amount of graft to be done.

These are very unusual staples they've used,

so it's not going to be that easy, I don't think.

And not that quick, either.

Each fabric panel has dozens of staples pinning it to the frame.

So when you're stripping a chair, you never really know

what you're going to find once you take everything off it.

So in the past we have found chairs where we've had to go,

"We really can't do anything with this,"

because they've been completely rotten inside.

It doesn't happen very often,

so hopefully it's not going to happen now.

But let's have a look, let's have a look.

Looks pretty good to me.

Phew, that's good news.

Little star. You find lots of interesting things

while you're stripping chairs.

Yeah, it's a real time capsule in there.

Anyone for lentils?

But no juicy bones. Sorry, Gypsy.

A little pointer, if anybody has a go at home,

to take pictures while you're taking the chair apart,

and then you can kind of see how the chair goes back together.

Says the man who's not taking pictures.

No, I'm not taking pictures, I've had a bit of practice at this,

so I should be OK.

It's just a beautiful way of making chairs,

to kind of do it all by hand and structurally,

you could've sat in this chair for another 20 years.

These springs are in really good condition.

There's no point replacing something when it doesn't need replacing.

After several hours of painstaking unpicking,

the chair has finally given up all its secrets.

There are some intriguing fabrics waiting in the wings, but first,

Simion has to re-pad the chair

and he has a secret of his own to divulge.

I'm probably going to get in a lot of trouble

for showing this on television

by my fellow upholsterers.

You've heard of the Magic Circle?

Well, Simion is risking the wrath of the sewing circle.

Here, what we have is new wadding.

We're going to kind of roll this.

Now, you're probably thinking how are we going to get this in here?

I was.

I hope this is going to work.

Yeah, that is quite clever.

Vacuuming the air from the padding gives Simion

just enough wiggle room to squeeze it into the chair backing.

And that is my trade secret.

There's still a load of stuffing and stitching to do

before Sarah gets a look at the end result,

but will Simion's styling be to Sarah's satisfaction?

Back in Essex, Guy is getting to work turning the bucket

into uplighters and as it's a bit filthy,

he's giving it a scrub up first.

It is a bucket and it's had a hard life and...

..we want to still keep that sort of hard life look.

It's kind of cool.

Wire wool only goes so far.

To attack the really hardened dirt,

Guy needs something with a bit more oomph.

Inside here just looks fantastic.

We've got the reds coming through,

you've got yellows, you've got whites,

you've got darker etchings and that's going to look fabulous.

To boost those colours,

Guy is giving the bucket a polish with some beeswax.

Do you know, I really don't know if we need to do too much more on this.

I think that's a lovely looking colour.

Once that sort of buffed up...

..we'll see what that looks like.

While Guy huffs, puffs and buffs,

his sidekick, Steve, arrives to add his considerable electrical know-how

to the project.

So, we've got to split that down the middle, then.

-Split it down the middle.

-I think once we've cut this in half,

it's going to lose a lot of integrity

so we may have to put a wooden back to it.

-Yes.

-But that will help with hanging it on the wall anyway.

A few measurements to get the midpoint

and finally it looks as if the bucket is ready for the chop.

Right, hang on to your hat.

Sparks don't usually fly when these two get together.

Ta-dah!

No, I think they're going to look great.

No time to admire your handiwork, boys.

It's time to get wiring.

I've got a small LED lamp that will fit in here. Just a push in one.

I think that'll be a lot more elegant.

-You're not going to see a bulb, are you?

-This side? No.

And also with LED, it'd be safer for the heat side of things.

Yeah, I'm much happier with it in this enclosed space.

Obviously, with an up lighter,

if it's in a pub and you get some clown chucking a wrapper in there,

-it's going to be safe.

-Good thinking. Yes, I like that idea.

Always got to assume the worst.

-Safety always first, I think, in this.

-Yep.

-Yep.

The bucket may be divided but thankfully Guy and Steve

are as one when it comes to safety.

Going to use this nice flex with the fabric braid around it

which sort looks old-fashioned

but it meets all the modern safety regulations.

To prevent fraying, Steve melts the braid...

..and solders the copper wires.

And it's a simple task to connect the LED bulb holder.

Just need to mount that on the back plate and then we have our light.

In Winchester, it's auction day for the oil painting.

How does auctioneer Jonathan think the sale will go?

There's been some interest in it.

Principally, people asking what the condition is.

We give that information to people

and that gives them the confidence to bid online

and I think, in fairness, that's where the interest is going to lie.

It's going to be an internet bidder because it's a Cumbrian scene and

it's going to be someone up north who's going to be bidding on it.

Hopefully it'll be a private client and it's going home.

OK, Jonathan, time to get the sale going.

Lot 364A.

William Lakin Turner, Easedale Tarn, Lake District.

Signed and inscribed. Where are we on this?

With no reserve price set, if there are any bids, it will sell.

There are bids in the room and bids online, so somebody fancies it.

But how much will it fetch when the hammer falls?

David reluctantly brought the painting to the recycling centre.

-Nobody in the family wants it.

-Right.

-I can't pass it on.

I cannot see that being crushed.

-I mean, I think the light on those hills is just beautiful.

-Yes.

Sarah wasn't sure if the painting had any value

but with some expert advice, decided to sell it at auction.

Well, but the hammer came down and now she's in Redhill

to tell David what became of his old oil painting.

-Hello, there.

-Hello!

-Lovely to see you again.

-Yes!

-How are you?

-I'm very well, thank you.

Excellent, excellent. So, you've settled in.

We're well settled in. Dreading coming here

but now we're here, we're enjoying it immensely.

Well, when I met you,

I think you were making quite difficult decisions

-about what you were hanging onto.

-That's right.

Because reducing from four bedrooms to two,

You've got to get rid of half of your stuff.

So that, I think is why that picture

ended up at the recycling centre with a broken frame.

And it's difficult to know exactly how to move something like that on

if it's not staying within the family.

I'm lucky that I have some connections

that can help me with things like that,

so I actually took it to an auction house in Winchester.

-Yes.

-They really liked it and put it through one of their sales

and so I'm really pleased to say that it sold

-and I have actually got some profit for your painting.

-Oh, good! Good.

There's £207.20 for you.

Wow! That is absolutely marvellous.

Do you have a plan for that money?

My first thought is I should find a good charity to give it to

because it is something totally unexpected.

Well, I'm so pleased we've managed to raise that bit of money

and I'm sure wherever you go, they'll really appreciate that.

-Thank you so much.

-Lovely, thank you.

-Bye-bye, David.

-Bye-bye.

Well, I'd say that is a great result all round.

We saved that beautiful picture.

Somebody who absolutely loves it has got it on their wall to look at

and David is giving all that money to charity.

The painting sold for £260

and minus auction fees of £52.80,

there was a £207.20 profit left for David.

Sarah's back in Manchester

to see what Simion's created with her little pink armchair.

Well, Simion definitely knows his way around a statement chair,

but the one I dropped off had nothing to say for itself.

But if he's worked his magic,

I could be picking up a real conversation piece.

I'm hoping I've kind of worked to the spec that she wanted

and she is going to have a big smile on her face

and she's going to want to take it away straightaway

and find a new home for it. So, yeah, super excited.

Sarah had an ambitious wish list for this chair.

She wanted style, she wanted glamour, she wanted...tassels.

Has Simion risen to the challenge?

The grubby pink seat has been transformed

into a sumptuous green velvet flute-backed chair.

Tassels normally fringe the bottom of a chair but not here.

Simion has gone Hollywood max

with a daring sweep of black running from top to bottom.

He's also fitted brass castors for a regal finishing touch.

Forget Manchester, this is more Monte Carlo.

The chair may be small in frame,

but Simion's given it a huge personality.

But what will Sarah think?

Simion?

-Wow! What have you done to that?

-Hey, Sarah.

-How are you doing, are you OK?

-I'm all right.

Doesn't that look so much better?

-I want to show you the back. Because I know you wanted tassels.

-Yeah?

And I know we talked about silky scarves and little bits and pieces?

But let me just... Let me show you.

What about this?

Oh, look at that.

I've never seen anything like it on upholstery, have you?

-No, no.

-I don't think I'm going to be able to sell this

to somebody with a cat.

Could you imagine what a cat would do with this?

No, it could be a very expensive cat toy, couldn't it?

-Was it tricky?

-Yeah.

I've got to say the fabric was quite tricky.

Because, as you know, Sarah, when you're putting a seat in,

you've got to pull it in tight

and you've got to cut into your corners

and make sure it fits properly and this fabric didn't leave any...

It didn't like tension, let's just say.

So, what you're saying, basically is,

it looks this good because you've really got for it on it.

-Yeah.

-I know that traditional upholstery

and the methods that go with it cost more.

So we had a budget of 495.

Did you manage to keep to that or has it gone over?

No, I've not gone over. I pulled in a few favours,

did a bit of extra man hours but I just had a love for the chair

so I couldn't wait to get started on it

and it's just become like a little bit of a process of love.

-So, it's all good.

-Really?

Yeah. 495, and now we've got a happy chair.

It's a really happy chair. It's totally original, isn't it?

I've never seen anything like the fringing.

I don't know how you did it

-but well done for taking the time for the extra details.

-No worries.

I think you can really sense that you love it.

I'm really pleased you like it. I really am. It's a statement chair.

And I think it's fun, and I'd like to see somebody

drinking a nice cocktail in it, or something.

I can't believe the personality you've got into that chair.

-It's amazing.

-Cool.

-Thank you.

-See you soon.

-Bye.

-Bye.

Well, that was a great result,

because if you are going to turn a profit on a chair like that,

it has to be packed with personality.

What Simion's done to it makes it stand out from the crowd

and shout, "Take me home".

Jeremy was downsizing

and there just wasn't room for his old pink armchair.

It doesn't fit in with the type of furniture I'm going to buy.

Sarah spotted an opportunity for a special makeover.

And with patience, skill and imagination...

..Simion created a piece of fabulous furniture.

After advertising the chair online, Sarah found a buyer.

Now she's in Crawley to show Jeremy how it turned out.

-Hello.

-Hello!

-Nice to see you, Jeremy.

-And you.

-How are you?

-I'm very well, thanks very much. How are you?

-Yeah, very well.

-Good.

I said I'd come and find you.

Your sweet chair, I think it had been in your family for how long?

Well, as long as I can remember.

Beautifully looked after.

A lovely, old-fashioned looking chair.

I actually took it to an upholsterer,

a real professional called Simion,

to do some work on it but if you'd had a go, what would you have done?

Well, you know where it was.

It was going out because there was just no room for it.

Simion had an idea to give it a really strong look, a very...

-Oh, right.

-..appropriate look for a certain era

so I've got some pictures here to show you

of what we did with it. It's got some swing.

Wow! I don't believe that.

That's incredible.

He gave it a Charleston-esque finish. It's fringed on the back.

-It's got some fantastic new fabric.

-Oh, wow!

And it has got a completely new look.

Is that something that would suit you or not?

It's probably not my style, but it's fantastic.

-I have a very open mind about these things.

-Excellent.

And how about your mother? Would she think that was a good idea?

Would she appreciate it being updated?

I think she would, actually, yeah. Yes, definitely.

I put some pictures of it on social media,

and somebody has bought it and it's now in the heart of their home

-and being used again so, its journey has continued.

-Fantastic.

And I've got some profit here for you.

-Oh, wow!

-I've got £55 here.

Thank you very much indeed.

-That's excellent.

-Any idea what you might do with it?

I'll probably give it to my daughter.

-Oh, lucky girl!

-She always wants money, you know.

Is she saving up for anything or looking for anything at the moment?

Well, funnily, we're going to London tomorrow, hopefully.

And she wants to buy something from...a shop

that I know nothing about, so...

Well, I hope that helps with whatever she's going to purchase.

Thank you for letting us have the chair.

Thank you very much indeed, thank you.

-Great to catch up. Bye-bye.

-Bye.

Well, Jeremy's old chair has got a brand-new look

and it sounds like he's got a big shopping trip coming.

It cost £495 to revamp the chair.

It sold for £550,

giving Jeremy a profit of £55.

Sarah's in Essex to catch up with Guy.

Well, I've come to find out what's happened to my little bucket.

I know Guy always puts his heart and soul into making his lights

so I'm hoping this one's a winner.

Guy just has time for a final polish before Sarah arrives.

This item was quite a difficult one, really.

What do you do with a coal bucket?

I have a funny feeling Sarah will love this.

She likes old things and likes them

being turned into something completely different.

The bucket was a sad old thing.

Caked in decades of ash, coal dust and even concrete.

But now...

..it's been transformed into two quirky wall lights.

Guy's beeswax finish gives the metal a warm, autumnal hue.

The half handles have been welded into place,

creating a gravity defying uplighter and a dazzling downlighter.

A black, wooden backing completes the design.

The lights have been PAT tested

and comply with all UK electrical safety standards.

Guy doesn't usually do things by halves, so will Sarah approve?

-Guy? How you doing?

-Hi, Sarah, how you doing?

-Yeah, very well.

That's my bucket, isn't it?

-That's your bucket.

-It's like an Aladdin's cave in here,

but I can spot that.

It looks beautiful.

It looks really good. I think you've done very well.

-Thank you.

-You've kept on the handles.

Just a bit of extra detail.

Yeah, we've just welded a little tab in here

so it holds it against the wall

so it just looks like it is half a bucket.

Lovely finish, as usual, because you didn't have much to work with,

did you? It wasn't the most decorative thing.

No. The bucket you picked was a nice older one.

It had age to it, and when we work our waxes into things,

then it can transform and make it come alive.

I'm thinking possibly a restaurant or somewhere like that.

In a restaurant, it would look really fabulous.

The bucket lights have put a smile on Sarah's face.

And, even better, Guy has stuck to the £150 budget.

150 quid for two, it's great work.

-Thank you very much.

-I'll tell you where it goes.

-OK, bye-bye.

It just shows you what you can do with what people throw away.

This is good for another 150, 200 years.

And it's different. That's what we like doing - different.

Well, Guy has done a great job that bucket.

It's certainly staring a new chapter in its life.

I just wonder what the end of the story will be?

Maureen was having a clear out

and her ancient coal bucket was about to become scrap metal.

-I love your bucket.

-I've had it donkey's years.

It belonged to my husband and it might even have been his father's.

Sarah knew that this bucket had a lot more to give.

And, in the right hands, could be turned into something saleable.

Guy had the ingenuity and Steve had the power tools and together...

..they brought the bucket back to life, and the good news is,

the wall lights have been sold to the Fountain pub in Edinburgh.

Manager Bobbi is a big fan.

I'm so delighted to have these type of lights in our pub.

They're so unique and different and, of course,

no-one else is going to have them, so we've got them.

So, I'm super excited.

Sarah's in Redhill to find out what Maureen thinks

of the bucket wall lights.

-Hello, there.

-Hello, Sarah.

-Maureen, lovely to see you.

-And you.

-How are you?

-I'm very well, thank you.

I said I'd come and find you,

because I loved the look of that pail

the moment I saw you with it at the recycling centre.

-You'd had it for quite a while, hadn't you?

-Yes, yes, we had.

Do you know what we might have done with it?

I couldn't think of anything that can be done.

A pail is a pail as far as I was concerned.

So I'm very interested to see.

I had a good look at it, but it was a friend of mine called Guy who took

on the challenge of making something out of it,

and he specialises in lighting,

so I've got some pictures here to show you.

It now looks...

-..like that.

-Wow!

That is amazing.

What he did was slice it down the middle, keep its lovely,

beautifully worn handle and created a pair of lights out of it,

so they can either be used as uplighters or downlighters.

What do you think?

I'm amazed.

Now I know that you said that your husband

was very fond of that bucket. Do you think he would approve of that?

He didn't like throwing anything away,

so he would have been so pleased to see it's got a new lease of life.

I'm so pleased that you think he wouldn't mind us cutting it up.

It has got a great look,

and that look that you describe as just a pail is actually something

that people love in their interiors these days.

So it wasn't difficult to sell,

and it's actually gone to a pub in Edinburgh.

So if you fancy a trip there to see it again, that's where it is,

and the profit from that is actually £60.

So that's for you.

Thank you so much.

Do you have any idea what you might do with that money?

Yes, it will go to the Macular Society.

-OK.

-Because my husband had macular degeneration,

so it's a very good cause.

Well, it's always good to know where it's going, and that sounds amazing,

so, thank you so much for letting me have your charming little pail and,

if you've got any more, you know where to bring them!

-Thank you ever so much.

-Thank you.

-Lovely to catch up.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

Well, it's not always about the material things.

It's emotion that we attach to them.

How sweet, a lovely reaction from Maureen

and I'm particularly pleased she thinks her husband

would've been pleased what we did with his old pail.

The wall lights cost £150 to make and were sold to the pub for £210,

leaving a £60 profit for Maureen.

The original oil painting was rescued from being lost for ever.

The pink armchair has been given a dazzling makeover.

And the old bucket is now a pair of quirky wall lights.

So that's three fantastic finds

that I knew had potential to turn a profit.

Three items saved and we made some money for nothing.