May 2014
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in a kindergarten and studying for
a new qualification. Today, she
combines motherhood with a role
as a communication tutor at Hong
Kong University, and she also offers
private English tuition classes. “What
I enjoy most about teaching is that it
is constantly personally rewarding.
Whether it’s finally finding a way to
connect with a challenging student,
or when I can see a student’s eyes light
up as they understand what it is I’m
teaching them.”
Artistic inspiration
As well as offering some significant
barriers to career continuation, Hong
Kong also offers some amazing
advantages, as mother-of-two Simone
Haas can confirm. After spending
the first part of her career working in
the hotel industry in various locations
across Europe, then in marketing
and sales in Germany, Simone
used her husband’s transfer to the
Philippines, then Hong Kong, to
explore a totally different direction:
creating and selling her own beautiful
photographs, paintings and silk art.
“Having domestic help in our home,
especially when our two children were
younger, meant that everything could
be organised quite easily. I had always
had a passion for drawing, painting
and photography. Quitting my home
country and job and moving to Asia
gave me the chance to put more time
and effort into my artistic skill and
turn it into a profession.”
Lindy Moran, founder of Little
Picasso and mother-of-two, agrees.
“I created Little Picasso as I had [a
helper’s] support at home, [which
allowed me] to spend time exploring
and tweaking the classes. I found
that after-school art classes were an
essential part of my business and I
don’t think I could do the same role
without live-in help. I think it would
be much more difficult elsewhere,
as home help [in other countries]
is so expensive.” For Lindy, the
transformation from running her own
public relations company in the US
to managing budding artists in Hong
Kong was a more organic process.
Arriving in Hong Kong in 1999
with her six-month-old, due to her
husband’s relocation, Lindy says, “I
was apprehensive to leave my public
relations company and my love of New
York and start again. But change is a
good thing – it forces you to explore,
and you learn a lot about yourself.”
Lindy began looking for art
classes for her son when he reached
kindergarten-age. “I looked at art
classes for young children, but wanted
something different for my son, so I
began teaching him at home. Other
mothers asked if I could teach their
children and, before I knew it, I had
a fully-fledged art studio in the house.
My husband suggested perhaps I
look for studio space.” A warehouse
in Ap Lei Chau became the home
of Little Picasso, and a source of joy
and inspiration to Lindy. “I don’t
