For Zyiko, jewellery began with something deceptively simple: the desire to make pieces they themselves would want to wear. But behind the silver rings, sculptural forms and nature-inspired designs is a story rooted in design, sisterhood, Vienna and a lifelong fascination with the objects that surround us. Founded by sisters Ella Bella and Zoe Leonie Guggenbichler, the Vienna-based jewellery brand is approaching its third anniversary.
What started with a vision has grown into a high-quality jewellery label inspired by nature, organic forms, everyday observations and the visual details of the city they call home. As Zyiko reflects on its journey, one thing becomes clear: the story behind its silver pieces is as compelling as the jewellery itself.
Before Zyiko, There Was Vision
Ella and Zoe had already spent years working in the creative industry, immersed in design and visual communication. “Ella and I had been working in the design industry for quite a long time, and we were always wearing stacks on stacks of silver jewellery,” Zoe explains. “One day, we thought we should start our own brand and make the pieces we would love to wear. We also wanted to build something of our own and see how far we could take it.”
Their first creation, however, was not a ring, necklace or earring. It was the packaging. “The first thing we created was our packaging. It felt like the natural starting point for us, coming from a background in design,” Zoe says. “When we had the packaging, it suddenly felt real. We thought, ‘Okay, now we have the box. We need to fill it with the jewellery we’ve been working on.’”
Three years later, that decision has grown into a jewellery brand with its own visual identity and creative language. “It has been a long journey, but in October, we will celebrate our third anniversary. Time flies fast.”
The Jewellery Box That Started It All
The sisters’ fascination with jewellery goes back much further than the creation of Zyiko. Their grandmother played an important role in introducing them to the magic of adornment. “It started at a very young age because our grandma always wore a lot of jewellery,” Ella recalls. “We loved how it shimmered and glittered. It also made quite a lot of noise when she wore it, and even as children, we loved that.”
The memory has stayed with them. “I think our grandma had a big influence on us because she always wore lots of jewellery and accessories, and her hands were always full of them, just like ours are today.” Looking back, Ella sees that childhood environment as the beginning of their relationship with jewellery.
When Nature Becomes Jewellery
Rocks, plants, organic forms and the textures of the environment often provide starting points for Zyiko’s designs. For Ella and Zoe, the attraction lies in the variety of shapes found in the natural world. “You can find so many beautiful shapes in nature and the environment,” they said. “We thought it would be nice to translate some of those forms into jewellery so that you can wear them and see them every day.”
For one of the sisters, that inspiration often begins with an immediate, personal response to an object. „For me, I’ve always been fascinated by the shapes and forms you find in nature — rocks, stones, and all the little details you come across. I’ll see something and instantly be drawn to it, thinking, “You’re coming home with me.” That instinct to notice the ordinary and see something worth keeping is central to the Zyiko design philosophy.
“There is so much beauty in nature, and we are both easily excited and very enthusiastic about our environment.” Yet nature is not their only source of inspiration. “Not everything we create comes from nature. Some pieces, such as the Nouvo ring, come from things we see in everyday life. Nature is a big inspiration for us, but we also find ideas in the everyday life around us.”
Recommended For You
Sseguya Sadick: Painting the Faces of Love, Strength and Hope
Why Silver Became the Language
With gold, gemstones and countless other materials available to jewellery designers, why silver? For the sisters, the answer began with personal preference and a desire to create pieces that could be worn every day. “For us, it was always clear that we wanted to make high-quality jewellery, so we thought about silver or gold. But silver was always the obvious choice because we both love it and have always worn it. We love that silver is high quality and that you can wear it every day. You can wear them for years, and if they need some care after a few years, you can have them polished, and they can look new again.”
For Zoe, jewellery should live with its wearer rather than spend most of its life inside a box. Silver’s durability and the ability to restore its shine make it a natural fit for the brand’s approach to everyday adornment.
Adding a Little Sparkle
The brand recently introduced gemstones into its designs for the first time, bringing a new element to the collection. The sisters had considered the idea for some time before deciding that the Caviar pieces offered the right starting point. “We had wanted to work with gemstones for a long time,” Ella says. “We thought our Caviar pieces would be the perfect place to introduce them because the design already has those small spheres. Adding gemstones gave them a little more sparkle.”
They chose pink and green stones to complement the existing forms. “We had been thinking about working with gemstones for such a long time, and then we decided that this was the right moment.” The response has encouraged them. “It has been very good,” she says. “It is so nice to hear people’s first reactions and to see people wearing our jewellery. It makes us really proud.”
For designers who spend months developing an object, seeing someone wear it can be deeply rewarding. “It is always exciting to meet people who wear our pieces because the jewellery is like our babies. We spend so much time thinking about every piece, so it means a lot to see people react to it and make it part of their everyday lives.”
That attachment also explains why they refuse to release a piece until both sisters are satisfied. “We are both perfectionists. We are happy when we release something only when we both love it.”
/
Designing from Idea to Hand
The journey from an idea to a finished Zyiko piece begins with observation. “The first thing is usually an idea,” Ella explains. “We see something in nature or the environment, and then we think about what we want to create.” The idea might become a ring, an earring or something completely different.
“Once we have the idea, we start drawing, making sketches and developing different designs. Then we put everything into the computer and work on the 3D model.” The digital stage is where much of the development happens, although the time required varies from one piece to another. “Sometimes the sketching and the ideas themselves take a lot of time.”
Eventually, the digital design has to become something physical. “After that, we work with our goldsmiths, and it is always exciting to see our designs move from an idea into the real world.” Before production moves forward, they create prototypes to assess each piece in person. “This is important because we need to see and touch the piece before we move forward.”
That physical encounter can reveal things a computer screen cannot. “Working with silver makes the process even more exciting because what you see in a sketch or on a computer can look very different when you hold the first prototype.” For two designers who began their careers in digital environments, the transition from screen to finished object remains particularly satisfying. “We both started our careers working digitally and spending a lot of time on computers because of our design backgrounds. So, there is something special about designing and building something and then having it in our hands and being able to wear it every day.”
The Sisterhood Behind Zyiko
Building a company with a sibling comes with its own challenges and strengths. Ella and Zoe are not only business partners but also sisters who spend significant amounts of time together. “It sometimes can be a challenge because, of course, we are sisters,” Zoe admits. “We know each other very well, and we do not only work together. We also spend a lot of time together outside work, even when we are on holiday.”
Yet that closeness has also become one of their greatest strengths. “We are very honest with each other. There is no need to say, ‘Oh yeah, it’s nice,’ when we do not like something. We say it immediately, and we have very honest conversations.” That honesty is particularly valuable when every design decision belongs to both of them. “We talk about everything and keep working on a piece until we are both happy with it. There is no Zyiko piece that one of us likes and the other does not.”
Trust underpins their partnership. „When you start something that means so much to you, like your own brand, you need to know that you can always rely on each other.”
When Jewellery Changes How You Feel
For Zyiko, a piece’s success is not simply about whether someone thinks it looks beautiful. It is also about how the wearer feels. “What makes us really happy is when people tell us that wearing our jewellery gives them a confidence boost.” Some customers have described buying a piece as a personal reward after a demanding period in their lives. “Some people have told us, ‘I was working so much, so I bought myself a present. Now, every day when I look at my hands, I am so happy, and I feel much more styled.’”
These reactions show the sisters how jewellery can become part of someone’s everyday experience. “We really love hearing that people are happy with the jewellery and feel more confident wearing it.” For Zoe herself, the difference is immediate. “If I am not wearing any jewellery, I feel much less styled and less ready to go out.”
Jewellery Without a Dress Code
Zyiko’s designs are not intended for one particular type of wearer. The sisters have found that their audience spans generations and different areas of the creative community. “We have customers who are over 80, as well as many young people.” The brand also embraces jewellery that does not depend on gender. “A lot of jewellery is designed mainly for women, while our jewellery is for everyone. Many of our pieces are also very unisex, so we see a wide range of people wearing them.”
That openness extends to personal styling. “You can style it however you want. Our jewellery works with many different styles.” Caring for the pieces is also straightforward. “You can polish it with a polishing cloth or use silver polish. When I do that, it looks like the first day I got it. It shines again and looks new.”
What Vienna Gave Them
Zyiko was born in Vienna, and the city has shaped more than the location of the sisters’ studio. It has influenced the brand’s visual world and connected them with a wider creative community. “We started Zyiko in Vienna, which is also the city where we grew up.”
The people around them have also helped shape the brand. “We have so many wonderful people here who have shaped Zyiko with us. What is especially nice is that we have many friends and people from the creative industry in our community, and they have helped us a lot.” Collaborating with other creatives allows the sisters to see their brand from different perspectives. “When you discuss a project with them, they show you how they see the image of Zyiko through their own eyes. That gives us a different perspective and is very interesting for us.”
The city itself continues to provide visual inspiration. “I love the art, the houses and the old buildings. You might notice these things more when you grow up here.” Everyday walks can reveal details that others might overlook. “Sometimes I walk through the city and, on every corner, there is a dragon, a lion, a bird or a fairy. There are so many beautiful sculptures, and I think they are also a big part of where our inspiration comes from.”
The Vienna of their childhood has also changed. “We feel like there are more creative events now and much more exchange with other cities. It’s really nice to see that develop.”
A Creative Future
Ask Zyiko where the brand will be in ten years and Ella laughs at the enormity of the question. “That’s a hard one. Right now, we’re mostly thinking a few months ahead.” Still, she has a clear sense of what she would like to build. “In ten years, I hope we’ve created lots of crazy collections and hosted amazing events in different cities.”
Vienna will remain important to that vision. “Of course, we’d love to have our own shop in Vienna one day. I think there’s still so much ahead of us.” The sisters also hope to develop their visual storytelling through distinctive campaign shoots. “I hope we’ll have created many outstanding campaign shoots, because photography and film campaigns are such an important part of how we express ZYIKO.”
Their interest in visual storytelling is rooted in their earlier careers in video production and design. “Before Zyiko, we already worked in video production, so storytelling has always been a big part of what we do.” For them, jewellery is only one part of the story. The world built around it matters just as much. “We love creating special stories around the jewellery, and I hope we can do much more of that in the future.”
This approach takes Zyiko beyond conventional product advertising. “Many jewellery brands focus on detailed photographs and videos of the jewellery itself. With Zyiko, we also want to create image campaigns where you may not always see the jewellery in close detail. Building a strong visual language around ZYIKO is very important to us.”
There is already more on the way. “We also have many products in the pipeline, so we are very excited about what is coming next.” The next chapter begins with a big pop-up on 17 and 18 October 2026, at Kirchgasse 33, 1070 in Vienna.
A brand that began with two designers, a box and the thought that they should make jewellery they would actually want to wear has grown into something much bigger. With each collection, campaign and collaboration, Zyiko continues to shape its own visual language, and there is still a lot more to come.
