🌟Boise Creative Spotlight: Cats Eye Creative Reuse Founder, Shay Haas

moonstruckcreation
Mar 2
4 min read

At Boise Area Creative Collective, one of our favorite things is highlighting the people who are quietly (and not-so-quietly) shaping our local creative ecosystem.

This month, we’re featuring Shay, founder and sole operator of Cats Eye Creative Reuse, a thoughtfully curated secondhand art supply shop on the historic Broadway strip in SE Boise.

If you haven’t visited yet — consider this your sign.

Below, Shay shares more about her journey, her mission, and what she’s building for the Boise creative community.

✨ Meet Shay

Hi! I'm Shay, a Texas transplant who has been living in and loving Boise for nearly 6 years. I am passionate about reuse and sustainability and fully dedicated to running my art supply thrift business on the historic Broadway strip in SE Boise. Aside from being the owner and sole operator of my business—handling cashier duties, donation management, social media, accounting, event planning, etc.—I also enjoy life's slow moments: drinking coffee on my back porch with my dogs, getting stretchy, playing guitar, singing, writing, learning about astrology, and spending quality time with friends and other creative folks in the community.

🎨 What do you do/create — and who is it for?

I've dabbled in many mediums and outputs over the years. But my main focus this past year has been to provide an elevated secondhand shopping experience by creating a well organized and curated store for Boise's creative community. Within that, I've made it a mission to showcase quality examples of creative reuse art in the space to inspire folks to think about materials differently. Two of my main projects are an epoxied CD mosaic on my checkout countertop and a large Cats Eye assemblage sign — made purely out of tchotchkes, trash, and otherwise "obsolete" materials. Generally, I love making things that involve creative problem-solving rather than conceptual pieces. And I teach acrylic painting classes, so I'm always developing new design ideas to share. I also enjoy collecting ephemera for collaging and making cards to send via snail mail — this one is mostly for me :)

🌱 How did your creative journey begin?

As a kiddo! My favorite thing to do on an "inside" day was to pull out the craft box and just make whatever my heart felt like creating. As I progressed through school and began selecting electives and extracurricular activities, art was always my choice. When I was awarded a nearly full-ride scholarship to attend college, again, I chose art. I received my degree in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts and Design. I never really considered being a full-time artist as a career, I just knew I wanted a life centered around creativity. So by starting my paint party business and my creative reuse store, I have fulfilled that goal in many ways. Over time, I have found that facilitating and providing space for others to create is what brings me the most joy. And with all the experience I've gained through personal exploration and institutional learning, I feel skilled and equipped enough to confidently do that.

🧠 What’s something people don’t see behind the scenes?

The sheer amount of juggling and pivoting that must happen ALL THE TIME. Haha… honestly, I do believe that variety is the spice of life and sometimes I think subconsciously I enjoy the chaos. One of my favorite compliments/feedback that I frequently receive at the shop is how well-organized and CUTE it is — and that is certainly by design. I work very hard behind the scenes to sort raw boxes of random donations into easy-to-find curated merchandise in the shop. I want my space to feel inviting, peaceful and inspiring — not overwhelming. And the "stuff" is where most of my energy goes/should go. But as mentioned before, I'm also the content creator, social media manager, event planner, cashier, customer service rep, accountant, website and admin assistant etc. I have a lot going on behind the scenes…

🚀 What are you currently building, growing, or dreaming up?

Currently I'm working on utilizing the spare space I have to showcase local artists' work in an informal gallery setting, planning for our upcoming summer art camp for kids, and regularly revamping my systems and processes for donations as things morph and the shop grows. I've had my brick-and-mortar open for just over a year. Now that I've honed in a bit on how things work and flow here, I hope to optimize for even better workflow and for future expansion — such as bringing on an employee or two someday! Obviously, this is my business and I want it to succeed for personal reasons. But I also have always been a purpose driven person, and the ability to serve my community at this intersection of my passions — reuse & sustainability, access to and encouragement of creativity, and community and gathering — is extremely special to me. I don't take for granted that people really want Cats Eye to be here. So I'm trying my best to make sure that it'll be around for a while.

🤝 How can the community best support you right now?

Come shop secondhand supplies! Tell everyone you know about us. Donate unwanted materials. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about upcoming art shows, classes, and other community events we host. Host a private craft party here for you or your kiddo's birthday! There are so many opportunities nowadays in Boise to attend creative workshops, classes, craft meet-ups etc. Consider stopping by Cats Eye for your supplies before buying new. Because it's donation-based, you never know what you're going to find here. And we may not have what you need. But in the process you may find something that inspires you in a different way. That's where the magic is!