DONALD Duerr had worked for nearly two decades as a chef in Bermuda until three years ago, when he decided it was time to try something completely different.

It was then that he decided to set up a business in Dockyard to meet demand in an unexploited niche in the market, one that would allow him to pursue his enjoyment of working with computers.

Swiss Connection, based in one of the units of the Clocktower Shopping Mall, was the result. It offers an unusual mixture of services from Internet connection to printing personalised T-shirts and coffee mugs, and from football jerseys to computer classes for children.

Working in his compact unit is a far cry from his days sweating in the hot kitchens of establishments like The Captain's Lounge and Willowbank. The 45 year old, who lives at Boaz Island, has no regrets about the career switch.

"My sister Beatrix is to blame, she gave me the idea when she studied Internet cafes," Mr. Duerr said. "I enjoy what I'm doing, I enjoy creating T-shirts and the interaction with tourists is great fun.

"During the tourist season, it's very lively in here, when you get tourists using the web cams on the computer and they're all talking away in different languages."

Swiss Connection has four computers for the use of customers and charges $5 for half an hour of high-speed Internet access and $8.75 for a full hour.

Another computer in the back section of the unit is used to scan in the images that customers ask him to reproduce on the front of a T-shirt, on a coffee mug or even on a mouse pad.

Each scanned image is printed out in the form of a transfer which can be emblazoned on to a T-shirt by means of 13 seconds in a heat press.

A similar process is used to apply pictures to coffee mugs, though a different heat press requires five minutes to apply the image to the pot.

Mr. Duerr has just launched a novel campaign to find a T-shirt design, specifically to grab the interest of tourists next summer.

The competition is open to Bermuda residents and the T-shirt design can be in the form of a picture, a painting, or any image that can be scanned in.

The winning entrant will receive a $100 cash prize, plus $1 for every T-shirt of that design sold at the store during the following six months. Runners-up will receive gift vouchers. Entries close on January 31, 2004 and judging takes place on February 12.

More information and the blank T-shirt entry form required to enter is available at the store or on its web site at .

"People ask for all kinds of things to be put on T-shirts," Mr. Duerr said. "If they're holding a family reunion, they may want a group shot of the family on a T-shirt they can all wear. Baby pictures are also popular."

Mr. Duerr hails from Switzerland ? hence the name of the store ? and is proud of it. Swiss flags, the white cross on a red background, adorn his premises.

And among the products on sale are home-made birthday and Christmas cards made by his mother Thilly and sent to him from Switzerland.

"I come from the German-speaking part of Switzerland, about 20 miles from Zurich," Mr. Duerr said. "When I came here as a chef 20 years ago, I thought I'd stay for one year.

"Then I met my wife Yvonne, we had two children, and now Bermuda is my home. But I still keep in contact with a lot of people in Switzerland and my mother often sends me things."

Mr. Duerr estimated that there were around 200 Swiss living on the island and around 60 of them were members of Club Suisse. The club was established in February this year and Mr. Duerr is the chairman.

The aim is for members to get together at least eight times a year to celebrate all things Swiss.

"Last Sunday we had Santa ? he comes on December 6 in Switzerland," Mr Duerr said. "We get together with our families sometimes and have a picnic at the beach. We've also had a , a Swiss card-playing night and a cheese night, when we make fondue."

Mr. Duerr has a range of jerseys featuring the big names of world football. Some of them ? last year's designs ? are on sale for $35 while the latest designs cost $65. These can also be personalised with names and numbers. Arsenal and Manchester United jerseys sold best, Mr. Duerr said, but even they could not compete with the "SpongeBob Squarepants in Bermuda" T-shirt.

A variety of baseball caps, as well as model cars and novelty model motorbikes with a clock built into the back wheel are also available at Swiss Connection.

the T-shirts are the main attraction. Mr. Duerr sells several of his own design, including one with a triangle superimposed on a map of Bermuda, bearing the words, "I survived the Bermuda Triangle". Another declares: "I survived the Bermuda motorbikes."

Swiss Connection has other sidelines, including photocopying, typing and fax services, business card production, CD burning, laminating and computer classes.

"In November, February and April we do computer classes for children," Mr. Duerr said. "We have a maximum of eight children in a class, with two to each computer. Sometimes we take a break and Tim Rogers takes them for a Dockyard tour."

Though a relatively young business, Swiss Connection has already made an impact with its standard of service. It was nominated for the Exceptional Customer Business Service Award 2004.

Swiss Connection is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. during the winter months.