Rising Stars: Meet Courtney Pernell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Pernell.

Hi Courtney, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Bayleaf Market is a storefront to engage the community and help support local artists, as well as a working pottery studio for me. It is the immediate result of my being relegated to making pottery out of my dining room when my studio got shut down because of Covid. I call it my pandemic project.

Anyone that knows me knows I can’t be contained for long, and my dining room got real small, real quick! I started thinking about building a studio beside my house just for me. But then I thought, well, I want people to come in and see my work so I need a little storefront. Then, I thought about all the makers I know and how all their weekend markets were shut down and they need a place to sell. And how fun it would be to create a space to do that in North Raleigh! Then it occurred to me that there was a cute building in my neighborhood where a friend had painted furniture and antiques, but she wasn’t using it as much anymore.

So, I called her to tell her my idea and met her up there. We walked through the building and the wildest thing happened- visions of what is now Bayleaf Market went through my brain like a slide show. I could instantly see every room, every configuration, the events on the porch, the produce out front, the collection of makers… I saw all of it. And she watched me see it and was so excited for me! Within 48 hours, I showed the building to my son, my contractor friend, and my friend Vanessa to get their blessing and I’m suddenly shaking hands on a deal for the building.

That was April 2020. We opened on October 31, 2020, after several months of intense cosmetic building renovations. Pretty sure my head is still spinning and hasn’t quite caught up to reality.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The crazy thing is that it’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done, even though it’s the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life. It was a HUGE undertaking and the building needed lots of love in order to live up to my vision. But it was like the entire universe just supported every bit of it, and everything just flowed. I wish I had the space to tell you about all the synchronicities and little miracles. Everyone involved would say the same.

Interestingly, because of Covid, I had all the help I needed because people were desperate to get out and do something purposeful and fun (if you call sweating your rear off all summer, fun). I managed to buy all the lumber about a month before prices skyrocketed. (shout out NC Lumber!), I had a perfect shop neighbor that would have done anything for me and the shop. Friends would bring by drinks and cookies and music. Yes, there were very long hot days and there were moments I didn’t think we could pull it off. There were moments I stopped believing in it and thought I was insane to be doing this, but here’s the thing- Bayleaf Market was always going to happen.

It had been a dream of mine (in various versions) since I was 19. Now I’m 46 and I realized this is my shot. I had to see this through, and everyone in my life was going to make sure I saw it through. I told myself, if all else fails, at least I’ll have a place to make pottery and a porch to sell it on.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m an artist @pottercourt and I primarily make functional handbuilt pottery. I got addicted to this craft in the early 2000s when I took my first class at Pullen Art Center, and I never stopped. Professionally, I am most proud of the community pottery studio I helped create in Smithfield, NC in 2009, where I was also a painting and pottery instructor.

We literally started it from the ground up and it’s still running strong today. I don’t manage it anymore or teach, but they are still like family to me and I’m happy about what we built. My desire to create community and be surrounded by the community is what drives me. Nothing feeds me more than collaboration and helping connect others. I am also incredibly proud of the years I spent working with adults with developmental delays.

That was the most my heart has ever grown, and the deepest my soul became. It is still important to me to integrate all of those worlds together into Bayleaf Market.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk-taking?
I touched on this earlier, but I’ve always been a risk-taker. I used to equally horrify and impress my mom at my willingness to take risks. It’s a fine line between brave and nuts, and I’d say I’m safely in the middle! But I know, I would not be so brave (or sane) without all the people that are walking this journey with me.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://www.bayleafmarketraleigh.com/
• Instagram: @bayleafmarketraleigh
• Facebook: Bayleaf Market Raleigh