Shih was originally a teacher at the village pre-school. When she became concerned that the tradition of manufacturing glass beads would be lost, she, her husband and her brother-in-law established the Dragonfly Yachu Workshop.
原是部落托兒所老師的施秀菊，因為擔心琉璃珠的製作傳統會消失不見，1983 年她和先生、小叔一起成立「蜻蜓雅筑工作室」。