Berlin - Callers to Linda Eilers Berlin cafe should expect to raise their voices to compete with the sewing machines in the background.

Many of Eilers' customers opt to man a machine for 5 euros an hour (7 dollars), sewing handmade T-shirts they wear home after coffee.

"There's always more people coming," says Eilers.

But T-shirts are only part of a larger trend toward handicrafts that's picking up steam.

"Instead of being passive consumers, people in all sectors are simultaneously producing and consuming original products they make themselves," says Melani Rollwage of Trendbuero Hamburg, a business consultancy.

Berlin - A separate room for an office and wiring that can handle all of today's multimedia devices are factors that will make a big difference for people who are looking for an apartment in future, a study conducted by Germany's Berlin-based association for apartment and real estate businesses showed.

In addition, the energy use standard within the apartment must be correct, according to the study, which collected data from
1,500 households throughout Germany about people's living preferences.

Sydney - The Australian eccentric who sparked a worldwide craze for hugging in public places hopes to do the same for organ donation.

The 26-year-old Sydney resident, who goes by the name of Juan Mann, is offering up his own kidney to a stranger.

"I'm young, I'm fit, I'm healthy, I have two kidneys," he told the city's Sun-Herald newspaper. "I don't really drink. I don't need that second one, and someone will be able to get out of hospital."

Mann became a YouTube luminary when a video showed him embracing strangers. Two years ago, he was a guest on the Oprah Winfrey television show in the United States.

Bonn - There comes a time when teddy bear wallpaper, toy boxes and colourful furniture no longer seem right in a child's room. That's when most teenagers feel the desire to have a clear-out and redesign their surroundings.

Transforming a room can be expensive and a total revamp may not be necessary because with a little handy work and some creative ideas, a boring nursery can be transformed into a stylish room.

Flea markets are good sources of inspiration. "The retro style is very in at the moment," says Silke Schoen, an interior designer from Berlin.

Hamburg -Looking into the future is easy to do at autumn bicycle trade shows when manufacturers highlight their new products.

A new trend is now emerging - the retro look is honing in on bicycle design.

"The retro trend in bicycle design so far has been on the fringes, but you can certainly assume that it will continue and gain impetus," said Andre Glaeser of Germany's bicycle club. Siegfried Neuberger, director of Germany's two-wheeler industry association, agrees.

Sydney - Young people are always told to get a degree because a good education is a passport to a good job.

Up to a point.

Australian research on household income shows that those who skipped university and went straight into the workforce are not destined for dead-end jobs.

Melbourne University researchers have gone over census data and found that almost a quarter of men and almost 30 per cent of women who didn't complete high school were in the top half of the earnings scale in 2005.