THE Hong Kong school system did a good deed for one teacher. It liberated Katherine Uphill from the cobweb of bureaucracy and pushed her into a new career.
When the secondary school teacher left to do graduate work in England, the exposure to crafts in Europe re-fuelled a lifelong interest.
By the time her studies ended, she earned her credentials, married a fellow graduate student, Chris Uphill, an Englishman, and moved to London.
When her Hong Kong teaching qualifications were not recognised by the state system, she directed all her energy into crafts. Pressed flowers came first, then hand-painted cards.
''There were all sorts of classes and fairs. London was a stimulating, interesting environment,'' Mrs Uphill said.
She thrived for three years. After a brief stint in Korea, where her husband taught, the couple moved to Hong Kong where she returned to the classroom in 1988. But not for long. She realised how stifling the school system was and how much Europe had changed her.