Troy

About $500 spent on flea market castoffs — an old ironing board, a metal gear from farm machinery, a rusty metal post that held a light in a subway, and a large wooden spool that once held cable — helped put John and Sarah Trop into their own storefront in the city's funky River Street neighborhood.

Those items, given eclectic new life by the Trops as a wine bar, a coffee table and a desk, meant a $5,000 prize from the Home and Garden Television cable channel. And that helped them pay for their storefront for FunCycled and get a new minivan — their first-ever new vehicle — to haul around inventory for their business.

It was last spring when the Trops won an episode of the HGTV program "Flea Market Flip," in which designers buy items at a flea market, repurpose and revamp them, and try to turn a profit. This episode just aired for the first time on Sunday, and until then, the Trops were sworn to secrecy about the outcome.

"Our son, Joshua, was watching the show, and when he heard we won $5,000 he asked how many Legos that could buy," said John Trop. But that cash had already gone to help the young couple expand their business from their Troy home and online, and into a storefront at 272 River St. that opened in November, and to help pay for a new 2014 Town and Country minivan.

"Our SUV had just died this fall, after we put about $6,000 into it, so this was a real blessing," said Sarah Trop.

Since 2012, the couple has been specializing in creating and selling custom-made tables, as well as repurposed furniture and reclaimed objects done with Sarah Trop's eye for design. Work is done in a garage at the couple's Troy home, which was a less-than-ideal way to show off their work to potential customers.

"We put the money back into to business. It is great to have a showroom where people can look at what we have," said Sarah Trop. "And we were able to get a new minivan that carry items... and it has a DVD console for the kids."

In addition to 6-year-old Joshua, the couple have a daughter, Harmony, 5. In "Flea Market Flip," two teams compete to buy items for a total of $500, revamp them, and sell them at a profit.

After buying their items at Stormville Airport Antique Show and Flea Market in Orange County, the Trops created three pieces:

A secretary desk/coffee table made from an old wheat trunk.

A coffee table made from a tractor gear and vintage ironing board. "Getting the tractor gear to stand on its own was a piece of art in and of itself," said John Trop.

A wine bar to hold both bottles and glasses, made from an old cable spool, a base from a New York City subway light and an old grain sack.

The Trops sold everything for about $1,290, clearing a tidy $790. The other team ended up losing $110 on their sales.

The show was Sarah Trop's second appearance on television; in 2013, she was part of a Rachael Ray program on random acts of kindness. Her next goal: "I would love to get on the Ellen DeGeneres show for their furniture building episode," she said.

bnearing@timesunion.com • 518-454-5094 • @Bnearing10