♪ ♪
(sander whirring)
My name is Owen.
I'm 12 years old.
I am a designer, furniture restorer, and business owner.
And today, I am inventing a brand-new table
out of different things that have been recycled.
Squid Flip is my business.
Squid Flip Fine and Found Furnishings
I take stuff like old furniture, suitcases, and chicken coops
and turn them into something new.
It's my way of inventing furniture
that nobody's ever created before.
Today, I'm going to meet Maureen and Kristen.
They need me to invent a new piece of furniture
for their organization.
- We provide housing and services
to homeless families and individuals.
OWEN: It's called Families in Transition: New Horizons.
They help people who are homeless
with the things they need,
like a safe place to live.
KRISTEN: This is our family space,
so this is where children interact with other children
and engage with their family,
so I think this could be a perfect space.
OWEN: Kristen showed me the room
where they really need an activity table,
a place for kids to draw and write.
So what I've gathered from this is that we need a table
for kids to possibly do art, do homework.
- Yes, this sounds perfect.
- My idea is to make a piece of furniture for kids
that would go into this space.
I'm inventing an art station,
a place where kids can draw and do their homework,
with storage for art and writing supplies.
My design is for two tables
that can be one large art station
or separated into two smaller stations.
I'm going to make the art station
all out of used furniture,
so I can reuse old stuff
to invent something entirely new.
- We have a, a thrift store, OutFITters Thrift Store.
OWEN: We're at OutFITters Thrift Store.
I'm looking for a table.
This table looks pretty nice.
It's a good size,
but it might be a little too low to the ground.
I think it's really good.
I'm not a big fan of the round,
but maybe I could take off the legs
and put them on the table over there.
- One end? - Yep.
- Okay, it's good, you're good.
Hey.
OWEN: This table is a rectangular table.
I really like the size of it, but it's a little too short.
So my option would be to take the legs off this table
and move them onto this one.
- Did you find everything that you were looking for?
- Yes, I'm going to buy this table
and this table. - Great.
OWEN: As I was walking around the thrift store,
I saw lots of kitchen supplies, and that gave me an idea.
I could use these pans as places to store art supplies.
I just needed to figure out a way
to attach them to the art station.
So I'm going to basically invent a new table
by cutting this table in half to make two brand-new tables.
Each one is going to have some really cool and interesting
and fun kitchen stuff attached to it.
I think kids will really enjoy
that their art supplies are stored
in pans and kitchen stuff.
So the first thing we need to do is to cut the table in half.
(saw whirring)
Today, I am at Cherry Blossom Renovations
with my friends John and Mike
to help me out with the carpentry for my design.
(saws whirring)
- 20-40. Good find, Owen.
OWEN: I'm designing the piece of furniture,
and they're helping to make it, turning the possibility
into real life.
- Well, we took these pieces off of another table
that went with these legs,
and now we're able to line up our holes
and get a bolt on there-- what do you think, Owen?
OWEN: Yeah, I think that looks great.
This is why I need to work with experienced carpenters.
(drill whirring)
- Tightening up good?
- Yeah.
- Nice, great.
(drill whirring)
- I think you're going to have to come work for us.
(drill whirring)
Excellent.
That's a good way to recycle some wood.
OWEN: So I'm super-happy with what's came out of this.
And it looks great.
(sander whirring)
So the tool I'm using is called an orbital sander.
And when it goes around in circles,
it takes the varnish off the table.
This is my Squid Ink chalked paint brand,
contains no squid ink.
Chalked paint has almost, like, a chalky texture,
and it's just so, like, nice.
I mix this paint myself.
Each of these colors are named
after places in New Hampshire,
and I live in New Hampshire.
Squamscott River, Salmon Falls, Franconia Foliage.
My design idea for the top of the table
is to have handprints in three different colors.
Oh, that looks great.
(whispers): Whoa.
This is a very hands-on project.
I'm going to work on the second table,
and then we're going to go to our client
and see how they like it.
♪ ♪
Working at your table.
♪ ♪
I'm going to add some of the different pieces.
It's so interesting how you can use something like a cake mold.
It works really well.
This is the cake-pan tower.
You can move them all around, like that.
MAUREEN: Oh, my goodness. KRISTEN: Oh, my gosh!
MAUREEN: I love that you're using items
from our thrift store.
- So it's actually two different tables.
If you wanted to pull it apart...
MAUREEN: Wow, holy cannoli.
OWEN: And then put against a wall or something,
if you want to put something else in the middle.
- This is ingenious.
And I love how you've taken the ordinary,
and you've turned it into this really creative space for kids.
KRISTEN: I am most excited to be able
to bring the kids out here to see this.
OWEN: It's a really fun experience to make something
and invent something brand-new.
And it's definitely fun,
especially when you're recycling different materials.
♪ ♪