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US Spokesperson - Inspirational Gift Specialist

Jill Raff, sister to Cathy, grew up in a close-knit family, in a city with a small-town sense of community. Jill is a family girl with an enormous range of interests and skills that have brought her a degree in Fashion Design and made her a recognised name in Food Styling.

Graduating with a BA from The University of Texas at Austin, (Hook ‘em Horns!) Jill immediately made her way to the Big Apple to attend Parsons School of Design where she obtained a BFA in Fashion Design. She was hired while still at Parsons to work for Anne Klein and Co under Louis Dell’Olio.

Europe was calling, so Jill moved first to beautiful, sunny Italia. Having studied some Italian in preparation to going, but “not being able to “put together 2 h’s” as they say, she first went to Perugia for a one month intensive language program and immersed herself. Next stop on the train…Roma! This magnificent city became Jill’s home for the next year while she worked for several Roman Fashion Design Houses. Then on to charming and quaint Bologna, where she designed for Les Copains, before returning to the US, but not before making pit stops in Paris and the Cote d’Azur to learn French.

In New York in 1991, Jill became the Knitwear Designer for the Emanuel, Emanuel Ungaro collection. Twists and turns made her re-evaluate her life and what she wanted. She followed her life-long love for food, cooking and baking, and combined it with her design background, deciding to become a Food Stylist. In 1996-97, Jill attended Le Cordon Bleu and received her Grande Diplome: in French Cuisine and Patisserie.

After years of assisting on Food Shoots in NYC, Jill became a Food Stylist for TV morning shows, cookbooks, magazines, and promotional events, using her culinary knowledge and experience toward Recipe Development and Recipe Testing. She is a member of the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance.

Just as Jill was about to give up on men, she met her soul-mate and married him in less than a year! “With all of my experience in Fashion development and production and now cooking and baking, my best two productions were made with the aid of my husband, my LOML - my son (my Little Leaguer) and my daughter (my Little Gymnast). Without a doubt the most challenging job, but the most rewarding! Family is the center of life and happiness; I have been lucky to know this from my own immediate family, growing up with two sisters”.

Jill became involved in the My Stone Company when Cathy gave her The Friendship Stone. Jill believes passionately in the messages of The Friendship Stone: “ I love feeling the stone’s smooth surface with my fingers and am continually amazed at the natural beauty and design change as I shift the stone in my hand. “I keep the friendship stones everywhere: on my desk, in my wallet, by my bedside table, in my pocket. Each time I see more stones, I say, ‘Oh my gosh, this one is magnificent; I must have that one’, and ‘WOW! Look at how gorgeous this one is; I must hold it too. The meaningful messages of The Friendship Stones remind me to stay connected to not only those I love, but also the people in my larger circle with whom I interact daily in my neighborhood. They remind me to remain optimistic and focused and the best part...they remind me of my sister mostly, but now, also of my awesome colleagues!”

Jill makes a point to get to the gym but otherwise hasn’t much spare time these days between being an involved Mom and various work commitments. When she can manage it, she escapes to the golf course with her husband and friends for 18-holes, or goes dancing (Salsa, Swing, Country/Western, Israeli folkdance).

Jill loves travel and her ideal holiday would be to a warm climate with beautiful clear water where the kids could have fun and where there would be great scuba diving (She is an Open Water Level II certified diver); tennis, golf, a nice massage, dinner, dancing and a nice glass of Cabernet at the end of the day…aahhhhh…