Business Profile: Cat’s Moonshine, Mahopac
If you’re looking for unique gifts for the holiday season, the Cat’s Moonshine boutique’s eclectic mix of New Age clothing, jewelry, and furniture should definitely be included in your shopping rounds.
“People coming here are seeking us out because we are kind of a specialized shop,” owner Catherine MacDonald said. “We’re not like a Hallmark or a big department store. We’re a unique boutique in what we offer. We have everything from stocking stuffers, small items, up to furniture, jewelry, handmade jewelry. We’re kind of like a boho-chic kind of store. We would really do well in [Greenwich] Village.”
Strategically located next to Skincapes Tattoo parlor at 559 Route 6 in Mahopac, the store is set back off the road behind the Lake Mahopac Pharmacy.
“This spot had opened up and I just saw the opportunity because Mahopac doesn’t have a New Age shop,” MacDonald said. “Given the location, with the tattoo shop right next door, their clientele is the kind of people that would be shopping here. They’re my biggest clients right now. It’s funky, it’s unusual, and they have a younger clientele so I thought it would be a good fit.”
A native of Mahopac, MacDonald was recently certified by the state to be a peer counselor, “helping people get through addictions, alcoholism, and family issues.” Extending the idiosyncratic and iconoclastic ethos of the shop, MacDonald also offers her services as a life coach for those who are not disposed to the clinical, formalistic structure of traditional psychological therapy.
“People that are going to seek me out as a life coach are people that have already tried therapy with a psychologist or a psychiatrist,” MacDonald said. “They’re going to come here with a concern and rather than turn that around on them I’m actually going to give them options to say, ‘Well, doing this isn’t working for you so why don’t we do this, that, and the other thing.’ I’m going to give suggestions and skills to take with you into everyday life.”
As a spiritualistic analogue to the coaching, a friend of hers offers Tarot card readings.
“Mostly the people who look for Tarot reading are spiritualistic people,” MacDonald said. “They’re not really into organized religion and they’re looking for a different path. You come in and you have a concern and you’re trying to find some answers outside of the box to lead you to the direction you should be going in. It’s not witchcraft, it’s not hocus pocus, magic, anything like that. The cards give you a guideline of where you are and where you’ll be going.”
Of the items the shop offers, MacDonald is especially proud of the furniture, which includes “specialized pieces that you’re not going to find at K-Mart.”
“We have a glass-top table right now where the base is a tree with snow on it and two wolves howling,” MacDonald said. This table comes with 12 different options for bases with designs including, “guitars, hummingbirds, tigers, unicorns, dragons, and motorcycles. “With all kinds of neat bases, it’s been popular. We’ve turned it over a lot.”
Coming up in the spring Cat’s Moonshine will be offering Tarot classes and Wiccan 101 classes, “eventually doing Circle which is when a group of like-minded people get together and do a little meditation and stone work,” MacDoanld said. “People that are into spiritualism will seek us out and have. The client-base we’ve started is already coming back repeatedly. And the town’s been nothing but welcoming.”
Cat’s Moonshine is located at 559 Route 6, in Mahopac, phone number (845) 803-8145. Life Coaching sessions and Tarot card readings are available by appointment.
By Larry Miles
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.