How Shea McGee Built a Design Empire From Scratch (With No Experience)- Episode 013
A few weeks ago, I was invited to a rooftop celebration at Bar Lis in Los Angeles to honor the latest collaboration with Studio McGee and The Shade Store. While I know about the Studio McGee as a brand, I knew little about the visionary behind it, Shea McGee. And in my effort to educate myself about the brand story, I discovered a powerful story that I had to share. Behind the dream homes, the hit Netflix show, and the signature neutral aesthetic is one of the most quietly radical career pivots in recent memory. Shea McGee didn’t just break into a saturated design industry, her, along with her husband, built an empire from scratch, all without a formal background degree or an obvious "in."
Shea McGee posing with one of her pieces of her newest collection of window treatments with The Shade Store.
In this episode of Jeans with a Blazer, I’m talking about how Shea rewrote her career story, went all-in on a wild dream, and became a lifestyle brand and business mogul. Whether you’re building a personal brand, running your side hustle, or trying to figure out your next chapter, Shea’s story has something for you.
Why should you care? Because Shea didn’t follow the rules. She made her own, just like Oliver Widger, who quit his job to sail around the world. She leveraged her background in PR, taught herself design, and turned Instagram into a business engine before it was cool. She shows us that reinvention doesn’t require perfection, it requires vision, guts, and a lot of follow-through.
Here Are the Biggest Takeaways from the Shea McGee Story
Instead of waiting until she was "qualified," she started taking design classes at night. Then, she treated every project—from her own apartment to her friends’ homes—as a chance to practice, build a portfolio, and get real-world experience.
She understood something too many people overlook: what you’ve done in the past doesn’t disappear when you pivot. It comes with you.
If you’re thinking about starting something new, ask yourself
What do I already know how to do?
How can I apply that in a new context?
What gap in the market could my background help fill?
It’s a simple but underrated truth: Action creates clarity. You don’t need the full five-year business plan to take the first step. You need willingness.
What starting small actually looks like
Designing your own space and posting the process
Offering to help a friend with a room redo
Sharing your aesthetic POV on Instagram before you feel “ready”
That’s not a polished, Instagram-ready moment. That’s a messy, gut-driven leap of faith.
The big takeaway isn’t that you have to sell everything to be successful. It’s that bold moves often look like trade-offs before they look like wins.
Ask yourself: What’s one decision you’ve been putting off that could change the game if you committed to it?
By treating social media as both a visual diary and a business tool, she built a loyal audience that grew with her.
Where do you start building a loyal audience?
Pick one platform and show up consistently
Talk like a human, not a brand robot
Don’t just share the wins—share the real journey
Too often we say yes out of scarcity. But every yes is also a no to something else—time, energy, brand integrity.
Shea’s career is a masterclass in intentional growth. It’s not about taking every opportunity. It’s about taking the right ones.
What could you say no to this week to create more space for alignment?
That kind of staying power doesn’t come from chasing trends. It comes from staying rooted in values and playing the long game.
If you’re growing something right now, ask:
What happens after someone discovers you?
Are you building a brand, or just posting content?
How can you start creating an ecosystem, not just a moment?