MICHAEL SHANNON

Founder/Principal

After earning his degree from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Michael started his extensive and rewarding career working for many well-renowned design firms. He was employed by the international furniture companies Haworth and Herman Miller before founding MSD in Center City Philadelphia in 1997. In the years since, he and his team have led and completed hundreds of projects, collaborating with clients to not only meet but to exceed their needs. Michael and his team strive to educate their clients throughout the design process, delivering them completed projects that they could not have imagined on their own.

Michael prides himself on his ability to quickly connect with clients and translate their needs into clean, sophisticated, but comfortable designs customized for them. If clients learn something about themselves in the process, all the better!

Michael has always had a love and appreciation for visual art – even spending paper route wages at an early age to buy and custom frame art. He feels that artwork is important to interior spaces, and takes great pride in simplifying the process of finding and procuring art for his clients.

This passion has also fueled his philanthropic endeavors. After spending 22 years on the Board of Collab, a group of design professionals supporting modern and contemporary design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, he remains a Collab member. Currently, Michael sits on the Board of Directors of BalletX and on the Chairman’s Council for the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. These commitments help him stay connected with Philadelphia and part of a much broader community.

Michael’s greatest form of inspiration comes from his travels. He has traveled all over the world and does not intend on stopping anytime soon! Collaborating with his design staff is always inspiring as well, as everyone learns from each other’s point of view throughout the design process, benefitting our clients and their projects in the end.