Sitting Down with Winnie Yue and Vincent Lim About SaloneSatellite and Hong Kong Design Annex

A celebration of design and innovation, SaloneSatellite marks 25 years of fostering ground-breaking talent with its Hong Kong debut. Organiser WINNIE YUE and curator of of prelude exhibition VINCENT LIM reflect on its global impact.

SaloneSatellite, the platform that’s nurtured emerging talent for 25 years, is making its Hong Kong debut. A coNFLuence of creative visionaries and luminaries, the event weaves this city into the global design landscape. Bringing this event to life are Winnie Yue, founder of the Designworks Foundation and the International Design Furniture Fair Hong Kong.

What are your goals and overarching vision in bringing SaloneSatellite to Hong Kong?

Winnie Yue: I’ve been going to Salone del Mobile.Milano since the ’90s and was always intrigued by the innovation and boundary-breaking qualities of the designs showcased there. I want to share that feeling of amazement to a Hong Kong audience and immerse them in the global design environment. A lot of people have never heard of SaloneSatellite, and I want to change that. I want people to have more appreciation for design, and for those who’ve always wanted to go to Salone in Milan, I want to make it easier and bring it to them.

As curator of Design Annex what was your overarching vision in the curation process?

Vincent Lim: Our overarching vision is to highlight what Hong Kong design is. As curators , our job is to bring exposure to the design landscape, as well as cultivate the younger generations of Hong Kong designers to have their own design identity. For me, it’s solely the concept of “East meets West”. I think it’s always been a bit difficult to pinpoint Hong Kong design in the same way it’s easy to spot Scandinavian, Danish or Japanese designs, due to their unique cultural features. They all have very strong identities, whereas in Hong Kong there isn’t a strong design language. By being a part of bringing SaloneSatellite to Hong Kong, I’d love to bring different international design elements that local designers can take inspiration from and form their own unique design language that wonderfully reflects the city.

How do you see SaloneSatellite evolving the design landscape in Hong Kong?

WY: It’s a huge milestone for Salone to celebrate its 25th anniversary in Hong Kong. It’s never established itself here before, only in Shanghai. Because of this, I hope it can cater to the Hong Kong market, alongside the rest of Asia, and become more well known. I want people – the average person, design lovers and emerging designers – to become more aware of the exhibition and have its international influence take part in the design process in Hong Kong. My job is to bring the global design stage here for a local audience to experience.

What’s the main driving force inspiring you to work towards bringing SaloneSatellite to a Hong Kong audience?

WY: Throughout all this, I feel as though everything is coming naturally to me; I love design and I’m highly passionate about it, so why not channel that energy into sharing my passions with others? The trust that Salone has in me is also a huge driving force. I’m grateful to have that trust instilled in me to make sure I deliver the renowned Salone experience to Hong Kong. Most importantly, it’s the iNFLuence of Salone that makes me want to share it with the world; its collection of international design ideas can be used as inspiration in the design process in Asia and Hong Kong, in the same way that Scandinavian architecture has worldwide iNFLuence.

What makes Hong Kong the ideal city to host this event?

WY: Hong Kong is the epicentre of Asia’s creative landscape. I feel Hong Kong’s influence is up and coming in terms of the art and design realm; we’ve had Art Basel and Centre Stage, both of which were highly successful on a larger scale. I also feel that Hong Kong’s landscape is very international, with people coming from all over the world to mix and mingle, and calling this place their home. Hong Kong is very welcoming, and because of that it has the greatest potential to exude the energy we want when it comes to expanding our influence.

VL: With the recent hosting of Art Basel and M+, Hong Kong has become more art-centric and there’s an obvious growing awareness of design and culture. This sets a good background for the city to host the first SaloneSatellite Permanent Collection, as I think more of these art events should happen to cultivate an enjoyment of arts and design. Hong Kong’s art environment is also very “East meets West”, which makes it the perfect coNFLuence of bridging two cultures together.

What can we expect from SaloneSatellite’s 25th anniversary exhibition?

WY: Salone is the best in design, so don’t expect anything less than inspirational. This exhibition is showcasing design from 1998 to 2024, so it’s a show of design evolution. There’ll be more than 100 pieces brought from Milan, and a creatively diverse product line-up, such as different lighting, chairs and other small items.

As curator and organiser, how do you see yourself working together with Lim + Lu and Design Annex to bring this exhibition to life?

WY: I’m elated that the interior design firm Lim + Lu is involved in helping me curate this exhibition, because it can offer a different perspective on design from the point of view of a younger generation. It’s refreshing to see how young designers are approaching their work today, and that difference in design generation can bring together a varied perspective.

How have the accolades and awards received by Lim + Lu impacted the way you approach your work?

VL: We aren’t very award-centric, so we keep things constant; our work doesn’t change pre or post awards. However, the most rewarding aspect of our practice is the trust instilled in us to design the most intimate aspects of people’s private residences. To be invited into someone’s space is quite special, on top of being given the trust to design something so personal is quite a rewarding aspect of our profession. It’s a privilege to be able to be the source of core memories, like when someone says, “I grew up in my childhood home and I loved it,” and we designed that home.

How do you adapt Lim + Lu’s work to suit different cultural contexts?

VL: When you work across cultures, it’s important you adapt your designs to be appropriate to the day-to-day activities of the people in that culture. We had a piece – a brass block used for sitting – initially designed for the Hong Kong market, but when that piece piqued the interest of a Danish brand, we had to rebrand the entire design to fit in with the Danish aesthetic, meaning we had to replace the brass component with natural wood. It’s the little things that make a huge difference.

How has your career evolved?

WY: I started out in the world of design more than 30 years ago, and I’m now founder and director of the International Design Furniture Fair Hong Kong, which debuted in 2015. I’m extremely grateful I have the iNFLuence and opportunity to share my immense passion for design with others, which is why I’m such a huge advocate for design Education.

VL: Looking back, there’s a kind of maturing that took place in my journey. As a younger designer, we’re more focused on being minimalist and using the least amount of detail as possible. As our practice grows, we’re increasingly exposed to design and its cycles, and getting accustomed to the idea that the more details that are used in our designs, the more thought goes into it. I think I’m constantly evolving and going through the natural cycles, not to say we’re following trends, but we’re picking and immersing ourselves in every design influence we come across.

Are there any future goals or exciting projects you’re excited about?

WY: I’m focusing all my energy into organising SaloneSatellite. This year’s exhibit will be a little different, as I usually do my exhibitions at the HKCEC, but Salone will be held at the Arts Pavilion in West Kowloon. This is my most exciting project to date and I’m so excited to be a part of something so international and influential.

VL: We want to slightly expand our practice at Lim + Lu. As our portfolio is largely interiors, we want to go back to our roots of furniture design and exhibiting in fairs such as SaloneSatellite. We want to venture back into creating more products, and furniture fairs are a great segue into going back into product design.

What advice do you have for emerging young designers?

WY: My sole advice for aspiring designers is to seize every opportunity to get exposure. I also hope for people to be more individualistic and not follow trends that much, because then they’ll just end up creating something just for the sake of the fact that it’s currently popular. As Steve Jobs always said, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” It’s important to stay hungry for ideas and always yearn to stay creative and foolish.