Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heather Jennings. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Heather thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

Yes, there was a defining moment, and it wasn’t glamorous. I was at Costco, doing bulk shopping, when I got a call from an unfamiliar number. It was my oncologist. I didn’t even know what an oncologist was yet. That call changed everything.

I had been running my own interior design business, focusing on healthcare and wellness spaces, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. No family history, no warning. I was a single mom, a widow, and suddenly I was preparing for chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation while still managing three major design projects.

Going through treatment cracked me open. It forced me to slow down, to ask deeper questions about what “wellness” really means, not just for patients, but for myself as a creative person, a mother, a woman. I realized I had been designing wellness spaces while completely ignoring my own.

That moment rerouted my entire life. I began returning to the parts of myself I had set aside, my art, my astrology practice, my writing. Now, my career isn’t just about interiors, it’s about creating spaces, stories, and tools that support healing from the inside out.

The biggest lesson? Sometimes your career pivot doesn’t come from a vision board. It comes from something that breaks you, and invites you to rebuild from a more honest place.

Heather, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Heather Jennings, an artist, interior designer, and intuitive creative who works at the intersection of wellness, beauty, and meaning. I started my career in fashion design, studying at Parsons in NYC and in London, where I focused on fashion illustration. But after over a decade in the industry, I pivoted into interior design, specifically commercial and healthcare spaces, driven by a desire to create environments that actually make people feel better.

For the past eight years, I’ve run Blackwell & Jennings, a boutique design studio where I’ve worked on everything from women’s health clinics and dental offices to fitness studios and trauma-informed spaces. I believe in evidence-based design, biophilic principles, and integrating sensory awareness into every project. But after surviving breast cancer in 2023, everything shifted.

That experience changed me open in ways I didn’t expect. I returned to art, astrology, and writing, not just as outlets, but as essential parts of my healing. That’s when I realized: I wasn’t meant to choose between disciplines. I was meant to blend them.

Now, under the Heather Jennings Lifestyle brand, I offer a mix of astrology services (birth chart readings, custom workshops, astrology-inspired art), hand-drawn fine art prints, and a more intuitive, intentional approach to interior design. I also consult on creative direction for wellness spaces, helping founders and leaders align their environments with emotional clarity and purpose.

What sets me apart is that I bring the whole person into the work, intuition, lived experience, aesthetics, and research. Whether I’m designing a clinic waiting room or reading someone’s chart, I’m holding space for transformation. And that means the work isn’t just pretty, it’s powerful.

What I’m most proud of? That I kept creating through cancer. That I raised two daughters while grieving and rebuilding. That I’ve come back to myself, and now get to help others do the same, whether through a room, a ritual, or a painting.

If there’s one thing I want people to know, it’s this: You don’t have to fit in one box. You’re allowed to be multidimensional. Your healing, your creativity, your weirdness, it’s all connected. That’s what I try to reflect back through my work.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Honestly? Emotional resilience and the ability to stay curious. This work, whether it’s design, art, or astrology, isn’t just about having good taste or knowing the technical stuff. It’s about being able to hold space for complexity. Clients come to me with more than design needs, they’re bringing stress, uncertainty, big dreams, tight budgets, sometimes even trauma. You have to be able to read the room, feel the energy, and still stay grounded in your vision.

Also, self-trust. In creative fields, people will always have opinions. You need to know what’s yours, your voice, your lens, your standard of beauty, and protect it. That’s been a big lesson for me. And finally, the ability to evolve. The industry changes, your clients change, you change. The more you’re willing to shift, the more sustainable your creativity becomes.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Yes—there are a few that have really shaped how I move through creative entrepreneurship:

Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way was life-changing. It gave me permission to see creativity as a daily practice, not just a product. The morning pages, the artist dates, it helped me reconnect with my voice when I felt completely burned out. It’s the book I return to whenever I’m lost.

Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés was another huge one. It gave language to the inner wildness I had always felt but didn’t know how to honor. The way she uses fairy tales and archetypes to talk about feminine cycles, power, and rebirth, it’s everything.

Anaïs Nin’s diaries and essays taught me about emotional honesty, sensuality, and the necessity of creating for yourself first. She made the interior world feel just as important as the exterior one, and I carry that into all of my work, whether I’m designing a room or drawing a chart.

I wouldn’t say I follow any traditional business books. My “management” style has always been intuitive, emotional, nonlinear, but deeply committed. These books helped me build a business that reflects who I am, not just what I do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://blackwellandjennings.com
• Instagram: @heatherjenningslifestyle
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackwellandjennings/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-jennings-8358b22/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@blackwelljenningshealthand3448

Image Credits

Catherine Nguyen Photography
Liz Nemeth Photography
Anna Routh Barzin Photography