- Well, my "Design Challenge" show on HGTV
came to a very dramatic and unexpected end this week.
Take a look.
The winner
for the first-ever "Ellen's Design Challenge"...
Is Tim.
[cheers and applause]
- Congratulations.
- Oh, my God.
male announcer: After the finale,
it was discovered that there was an existing piece of furniture
designed by European designer Simon Schacht
that resembled Tim's.
- Here's why I'm here.
If you want to know. - Mm-hmm.
- Do you want to know? - Yeah, I do.
- All right, well,
Tim has been disqualified.
You are the winner.
- Really?
- You won $100,000,
a spread in "HGTV Magazine"--
- Really? - Yep, really.
- You just, like, changed my life.
- I know.
[cheers and applause]
So even though Katie is the winner,
I still wanted a chance to talk to Tim.
Please welcome Tim McLellan.
This was one of the hardest things in the world
because I think-- and I told you on the phone--
everyone, from the beginning of the challenge,
loved you-- loved you as a person,
your character, your talent.
And when this happened, when it came to my attention,
it was-- it was very difficult.
So I wanted you to talk about this
and how this possibly could have happened.
- Well, thanks for having me on the show, Ellen.
And I doubt you're more nervous than me.
- [chuckles]
- This whole experience has been extraordinarily...
um, exciting and rewarding for me overall.
Painful at times, for sure.
But how this could have happened--
I--I have never heard of Simon-- I'm not sure of his last name.
- Schacht, yeah. - Schacht.
- Yeah.
- And in my recollection,
I have never seen his piece of furniture before.
With that said, the similarities of the two pieces
are quite compelling,
and I understand the decision made
and accept it and recognize Katie as the legitimate winner
of the show.
Preparing for this competition and over the last 20 years,
I've looked at millions and millions of pieces of furniture,
and--and it's quite possible and looks as though
that piece somehow got lodged in my memory.
And when Chip and I were deciding
and working towards a design and I saw that stack of lumber,
I had a flash of a piece of furniture
that would be brilliant for the show,
and I owned it.
And Chip and I built--
built a fantastic, wonderful piece of furniture.
And it's disappointing how this whole thing worked out,
and it's--it's been very taxing on me, of course.
- Yes, of course, because you were the winner
for a while until there was an anonymous tip
and this came to our attention.
And as I said to you on the phone,
you know, most furniture is a derivative of something.
I mean, there's-- it's hard to find one--
you know, at some point, maybe something starts it,
but chairs, tables, everything, it's--
it's similar, if not--
you know, some people copy it exactly.
So--and I know you, as a person,
would not have purposefully done that.
And like I said, you-- you know,
you didn't have to help other contestants, but you did.
When you were finished with your work,
you helped them finish on time.
And everyone knows how talented you are.
And I've said this to you privately,
and I'll say it publicly, I want to work with you again.
I want to create something for you.
I think you're talented,
and I want to do something with you.
So you will-- not that you need me.
You have a future anyway. - [chuckles]
Well, Ellen, your brand and what you put out to the world
rings so true with my spirit.
And this whole adventure that you put together
called "Ellen's Design Challenge"
was such a wonderful venue
for designers and artists like myself
to have a platform
to express how we come up with these ideas
and how we execute them.
And the way that you put the carpenters together
and gave us qualified help--
and my carpenter, Chip Wade, was beyond qualified.
What a great guy.
- Chip is in the audience.
Chip, I mean, you have--
you've, like, formed such a bond.
You're hanging out together now, right?
- Yeah, no, it's kind of weird, right?
- Yeah, yeah. - [laughs]
No, I have absolutely enjoyed getting to know Tim.
It was a blessing, A, being called up
to be able to help with an unknown designer--
we were kind of paired up randomly.
And it's very rarely that I get to spend time
with someone else that is so focused
and likeminded in vision
and ultimately very talented as a builder as well.
And it was a joy and an honor,
and I'm sure we'll do plenty more together.
- Yes, you will, with or without me, but--
with and without me, probably, but for sure with me,
because I will do something.
And the quality of your work-- it's not just--
you know, your vision is great.
You have a great aesthetic.
But the quality of the work is great as well.
And hopefully, we're gonna make those pieces available
for people to purchase,
and I think they will be interested in that.
So thank you so much.
I know that that was hard for you,
and I'm glad I got a chance to have you on
to explain your side of it.
- Thank you very much, Ellen.