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About Gill Hayhoe

The Woman

In 1999 Gill Hayhoe was on holiday in Italy, after finishing three years working in interior design in London, before returning home to South Africa. She stumbled on a gorgeous little “bottega” in Florence run by a lovely woman named Giovanna, who was making the most amazing jewellery.

They became instant friends, and one month later Gill returned to Italy and spent five weeks with Giovanna at her big, rambling, 18th Century Villa in Tuscany… learning about jewellery, ceramics, Italian cuisine, and visiting special & gorgeous Italian places.

Gill returned to Italy every year after that, to design and produce jewellery with Giovanna and her artisans & family in Florence, for her new store in South Africa. At first spending a month there every year usually during the Italian summer; and between parties at the villa … and long discussions about food, life and fashion; making jewellery at the Kitchen table!!! Many hours and late nights spent rummaging through endless boxes of Swarovski Crystals, Murano Glass, amazing plexi pieces, and other treasures, in the vast cantina under the villa…. to arrive at unique and special pieces of jewellery to sell in South Africa. All totally exclusive, hand soldered, & handcrafted with a lot of love and inspiration.

Over 20 years of going to Italy, Gill has learnt the language, learnt about Italian culture & food, made amazing friends, and grown her business into the BRAND it is today.

A chance meeting in a tiny side street of Florence, totally changed her life and her heart ……. and “GILL HAYHOE – Florence Italy”; The Brand, was born.

About The Product

Gill no longer produces with Giovanna; they separated at the end of 2016. Today Gill has new suppliers and partners in her work, but “Gill Hayhoe Collection” pieces are still handcrafted in Florence, ITALY, by Specialised Italian artisans with years of experience in this industry. The GILL HAYHOE Brand is unique, custom made & exclusive. All designs are hand drawn by Gill, and then produced to specification. Her designs are sold exclusively at this time through her website, social media platforms and store in South Africa. Metal parts are hand soldered, and electromagnetically plated in factories in Florence. Plexi parts are also custom made, and manufactured in specialised factories in Florence. Stone setting is hand done, by Gill Hayhoe and her team. All elements of the production process are time-consuming, labour intensive, and have to be done with skill and great care, by people that are trained in this work. We aim to produce perfectionism, world class quality, and items that last a lifetime; Unique “wearable” art pieces, which are special, bespoke, and sometimes one of a kind.

We put all our love into what we do, and we hope that our pieces carry that beautiful energy, so that you feel it, and they make you SO HAPPY!! We aim to empower woman all over the world that buy our pieces to feel beautiful, strong, and amazing. Because feeling truly confident and good, promotes real love within ourselves and in our lives.

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