Woman’s Day New Zealand – September 02, 2019

TEXT: 

HAYLEY

MCLARIN.

PICTURES:

SHEENA

HAYWOOD.

HAIR

&

MAKE-UP:

MANDY

ERSKINE.

Groomed

forsuccess:

“Emmahasthe

Hilltenacity,

driveand

spirit,”saysa

proud Michael.

spentandtheyearntheir

ownpocketmoney– they

likewatchingtheirbank

accountgrow.”

Theyshovelpoo,scourthe

golfcourseinallweatherand

haveevenbuskedastheyare

skilledviolinplayers.

“I’vesetthemupwith

threejars– a savingsjar,a

spendjaranda charityjar,

andtheyallocatetheirmoney,”

tellsEmma.

Fortyyearsafterherparents

openedthefirstMichaelHill

JewellerstoreinWhangarei

whenshewasjustseven,

Emmastillrecallspolishing

theglasscabinetssoearnestly

thatshedidn’trealisetheshop

hadclosedfortheday.Bythe

timeshewastheagehertwins

arenow,shewasworkingat

thestoreafterschoolandat

weekends,anddiligently

savingmoney.

“Mychildhoodwaslovely,”

gushesEmma.“Michaelhas

alwayshada reallygood

work-lifebalance.Most

weekendswe’dbeoutinthe

dinghynettingflounderor

catchingfishinWhangarei

Harbour.Wespenta lotoftime

outdoorsasa familytogether.

“Welivedon 10 acresof

nativebushandhadpossums.

Theywerea pest,soDad

wouldputa cageoutwithan

appleinit.I usedtofeelsorry

forthem,soI’dgetupbefore

anyoneelsewasawakeand

letthepossumout.”

Michaellaughsoutloud,

“I neverknewthat!”

It’ssurprisingtheyhave

anysecrets,spendingdecades

togetherlivingandbreathing

thegembusiness.Michael

steppeddownin 2015 and

EmmanowrunsMichaelHill,

as chair of the international

board.ButMichaeland

Christinearestillimmersed

inthedynasty,designing

jewellerysoldinmorethan

300 storesinNewZealand,

AustraliaandCanada.

“Evenathighschool,I

couldseethefunMumand

Dadwerehavingandwanted

tobepartofthat.Youused

todoreallyeye-catching

displays,”sheremindsher

father.“Youweredoinga

summercampaignandyou

filledthewindowwithCoke

cans.Weneverreallygot

treatsaskids,soafterwards

[brother]MarkandI wereable

todrinkalltheCoke.Wehad

a chickenhutchandputthe

babychicksinthewindow

withthecaption‘Justhatched.’

It gotsomuchattention.

“I’vehadstageswhenI have

notworkedinthebusiness

andmissedit terribly.I’mat

myhappiest,andI know

Michaelcertainlyis,whenwe

havelotsonthegoandwe’re

workinghardtowardsa goal.

It’sthejourneyandthe

challenge,that’swherethe

funcomesfrominlife.”

Provingherself

Emmawas 16 whenher

parentsmovedtoBrisbane,

listedthebusinessontheNZ

StockExchangeandstarted

stretchingtheirnetworkof

trailblazingstoresthroughout

Australia.

Sheworkedlatenights,

weekendsandholidays

atMichaelHill,aswellas

waitressingattheSheratonto

fundherselfthroughBrisbane

University.Towardstheend

ofa year-longOEtravelling

throughEuropewhileliving

andworkinginLondon,

home beckoned.

r with love

AEL’S GIRL

EMM A IS A GEM