The importance of wellbeing is nothing new to Jill Blakeway. The doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine has been treating patients in New York’s East Village since 1999. “In the early days, it was just me. I didn’t even have a receptionist,” she says. “I did everything. I saw the patients, checked them in and out, and cleaned the office. It grew from those small beginnings.”
Growth happened quickly after she and her husband Noah Rubinstein carved out a specialty for themselves in women’s reproductive medicine, especially fertility. As the science behind acupuncture continued to back up her practice, and since she was someone who could integrate treatments with Western medical practices, Blakeway became highly sought-after.
With her expanding practice and a new space to call home, it was time for a brand refresh. She tasked female-led branding agency Ma’am Creative and designers Julie Frank and Hayley Eber to create a comfortable, clean, yet not sterile, aesthetic. “Yinova has helped a lot of women have babies, and so we wanted to retain what it was that people loved about us, which was our warmth as a community,” she explains of the sensitive nature of what they treat. “People know they’re somewhere safe, where they can burst into tears and we will hand them a tissue.”
A residential, Scandinavian feel starts at the entry, where birch plywood shelves lined with Yinova’s custom herb blends and a cozy seating nook beneath a cluster of pendants greet patients. In the all-white treatment rooms, hanging bronze wall vases filled with greenery adds a textured layer.
With two new locations underway in New York, Blakeway says her success comes down to her empathetic approach. “I give a lot of thought to how it feels to be a patient—to see things from their point of view,” she says, a lesson taught to her by her mother who ran a hotel in Scotland. “I regularly lie on the treatment table and look up. I tell my staff, ‘Never forget that we’re in a service industry.’”
