CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Want to stand out at the next Nuggets game?
Katie Shaffstall, a Colorado artist, is painting custom sneakers for fans.
"For me art is like therapy," she said. "I'm not thinking of anything other than the art."
Shaffstall has been painting custom shoes for a decade. And with the Nuggets in the NBA Finals, requests from fellow fans are rolling in.
"People do birthday gifts, like Father's Day," she said. "I get a lot of requests for personalized stuff like that."
Her side gig started started small.
"My first shoe I just painted a white shoe black," Shaffstall said.
Then, her dream came true.
"My favorite basketball player has always been Sue Bird since I was in high school," she said. "Just reached out and said I want to make shoes for you and she saw it, and I probably made six or seven pairs for Sue."
As artist and owner of Kshaffstall Kicks, she's also made shoes for former Nuggets favorites like Gary Harris. She even works with the team on shoes for fan events.
"For me now it’s not so much what can I do because those opportunities are like happening, but it’s like can I make people smile," she said.
Shaffstall said she hopes her team can win it all; for obvious reasons, and so she can start painting Larry O'Brien Trophies next to Maxie the Miner.
"You get to be a part of a journey of a team that you follow," she said. "For the Nuggets, seeing where they are now and knowing everyone doubted us it’s cool to say, ‘I told you so’.”
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