When Kai-Yin Lo returned home to Hong Kong after attending school in Britain and the U.S. in the 1970s, she wasn't an obvious bet to emerge as a success in design.
With the recession in the U.S. in the 1990s, payment terms from big U.S. chains turned harsh, however, and Lo started to withdraw from large-scale retailing in favor of art fairs, smaller exhibitions and shops.