Lims Legacy is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Aside from its three outlets in Singapore, including Holland Road Shopping Centre and a showroom in Ubi Road, the retailer opened in Johor Bahru’s Eco Galleria this March.
Known for its beautifully curated collections of Asian-inspired furniture, antiques, and arts and crafts, Lims Legacy offers handcrafted home essentials, including elm wood cabinets and consoles with Chinoiserie-inspired accents, ceramic and porcelain homeware, and embroidered bunga placemats.
The business was founded by Lim Chor Pian, who started Lim’s Arts & Crafts with his younger brother Lim Choo Kuan in 1970. Lim’s Arts & Crafts split in 2015, resulting in two new establishments, Lims Legacy and Lim’s Holland Village.
Cheng Chew Tian, Chor Pian’s wife, still plays a significant role as the chief artisan at Lims legacy at 89. Known affectionately as Mama Lim, she oversees the handcrafting of the store’s bestselling lampshades at its Bukit Timah workshop.
“I started making lampshades in my 20s,” she says with a smile. “I learnt to do it and discovered I was good at it. As customers loved them, I just kept at it. In the earliest days, the shop was on the ground level and our family lived upstairs. Whenever we finished making the lampshades at the back, we hauled them straight to the front of the store to sell them.
“I never thought about whether I enjoyed making lampshades or if I wanted to make other things. But I guess I did because even though we are now at Bukit Timah and not behind our store, I still go to work every day!”
As such, being involved in the family business came naturally to her four daughters and one son, who have together given her 12 grandchildren and a great-grandson. Even though only a few remain involved in the business, everyone contributed.
As Rosalind Lim, the second of the five siblings and the mother of two grown children, explains, “It’s such an organic process because we lived and breathed the business. For several years, I worked at Lims Legacy before transitioning to jewellery sales. Ironically, I had to work harder to prove myself outside of the company.”
A director of Lims Legacy since 2015, Rosalind has expanded the company’s services, including opening Made in Paradise Luxury on the third level of Holland Road Shopping Centre. This curated version of Lims Legacy features fine jewellery, fashion, upcycled garments like kimonos, and other bric-a-brac Rosalind acquires on her travels.
In the meantime, Alicia Lim, the daughter of Rosalind’s brother Richard, is responsible for safeguarding Lims Legacy as its Marketing Manager. The mother of a two-year-old son graduated from Temasek Polytechnic in fashion design and merchandising and worked for a local fashion house before joining the business in 2015.
Her responsibilities include connecting the brand with new audiences and creating communities around the brand through social media, storytelling, and partnerships. As Lims Legacy is expanding its interests beyond Singapore, this is essential.
The company also owns Canopy Villa Glamping Parks in Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as Manaa Living in Perth, Australia, which offers short-term accommodation with fully equipped kitchens.
Meanwhile, there is also much to do offline, says Alicia. “Our goal is to keep customers’ experiences fresh, so we’re trying to organise more events like lampshade workshops and pop-ups.”
Photography Cher Him
Art Direction Ed Harland
Hair Kenneth Ong, using Balmain Hair
Makeup Keith Bryant Lee & Wee Ming, using Chanel Beauty
