Emily Shoop

Founder & Principal of Ray Studio

A little bit about Emily…

Emily Shoop is the founder of Ray Studio, a San Francisco-based brand and design studio focused on the hospitality industry. Born and raised in Indianapolis, her love of hospitality began as a college student when Emily would scrape together money to fly to New York City in search of culture and cuisine. In school, she studied neuroscience in hopes of becoming a brain researcher, but the world of design, food, and travel quickly became far more alluring than science labs.

In her early 20s, life and marriage brought her to San Francisco. There, Emily started her first company, Emily Shoop Design, working on design projects for popular eateries and hoteliers including Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Her skills and client list grew and within a decade she had developed dozens of boutique hotel and restaurant brands globally. 

In 2016, Emily was recruited to work in-house at Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants as their Senior Brand Creative Director. Her time at Kimpton proved to be the most valuable of her career, sharpening her hospitality brand development skills in a more traditionally corporate setting. At Kimpton, she oversaw creative direction for 150 boutique hotel and restaurant brands, the Kimpton masterbrand, and supported numerous IHG masterbrand campaigns around the globe.

Throughout her time at Kimpton, Emily’s heart remained in the world of boutique hotels and restaurants. Her passion ultimately led her to found Ray Studio in 2020, an agency offering full-service brand strategy, identity and a suite of creative services tailored to the specific needs of boutique hotels and restaurants. There’s nothing she’d rather be doing, besides spending time with her two daughters, husband and the family dog Frank.

How to connect with Emily and Ray Studio…

Ray Studio’s Website

Ray Studio’s LinkedIn, Instagram Pages

Emily’s LinkedIn Page