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Shea McGee began in communications and public relations, not interior design. She started sharing projects from her first home online, took interior-design classes, and began working with neighborhood clients before she and her husband, Syd, founded Studio McGee in 2014.
Shea McGee’s first career was in communications
McGee studied communications at Brigham Young University and worked in public relations before pursuing design, according to her official Studio McGee biography. In a September 2024 interview, she described wanting a creative outlet while working in communications and beginning to document changes to her first home.
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Her first home became a public portfolio
McGee shared her home projects online through a blog and Instagram. Her official biography highlights the blog; her 2024 interview and the description for a July 2024 Second Life episode emphasize Instagram. Together, those accounts show how personal home projects became public examples of her design work—and helped her audience grow as she considered making design her full-time career.
She studied design and found early clients
Studio McGee’s biography says McGee enrolled in design school, but does not name a school or specify a credential. The July 2024 Second Life episode description provides more detail: it says she took interior-design classes at a local community college and began working with neighborhood clients, including clients who found her through Instagram. The available accounts establish design study and early client work, but not a particular professional qualification.
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She and Syd founded Studio McGee in 2014
After moving from communications toward full-time design, McGee and Syd launched their company together. The Studio McGee About page and Netflix’s 2022 cast guide identify 2014 as the founding year. Studio McGee’s account says the business began at a $70 Craigslist desk. SheerLuxe’s 2024 interview with McGee reports that she and Syd moved to Salt Lake City that year to launch the business.
Studio McGee describes Shea as its Chief Creative Officer. Netflix’s 2022 guide says she led the creative side and made final design choices on client projects. The company’s early story is therefore not just a solo-design career: Shea’s design work and Syd’s partnership formed the basis of the business.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The design business came before the wider brand
Studio McGee later expanded into virtual design, McGee & Co. furnishings, the Threshold designed with Studio McGee collection at Target, books, and the Netflix series Dream Home Makeover. Those ventures extended the company’s reach; they came after McGee began sharing home projects and building a design practice.
Netflix reported that Studio McGee had a new office and more than 170 employees in its August 2, 2022 cast guide. That is a historical figure from 2022, not a current headcount.
McGee and Syd also recount the company’s story in Make Life Beautiful. Studio McGee’s Press page attributes this reflection to Shea: “We didn’t set out to build an empire. We set out to make beautiful homes for people who wanted to live beautifully. Everything else followed.”
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