At Sage Valley Pottery, Jessi Penrod welcomes customers day and night — on the honor system

There aren’t many physical stores in which to browse if the hankering to shop hits at 1 a.m.

But a longtime pottery studio in the center of Corrales offers that option — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In fact, some of Sage Valley Pottery’s best customers visit later in the evening, maybe after dinner or bar-hopping.

Sage Valley is continuing a tradition started by the owners of what was once called Hanselmann Pottery, an institution in the village until the latest in a series of owners abruptly shut it down without notice in 2023. The namesake owners had been making ceramic goods for more than 50 years.

Jessi Penrod, the new owner, was a long-time Hanselmann’s potter who decided to keep the operation going because “there was so much support for this business. The amount of outreach that I got from people who wanted to support this and connect us to resources was so overwhelming.”

The studio is in the same location along Corrales Road, although the name has changed. Penrod is sticking with some of the old Hanselmann traditions, while moving forward by introducing a new line of dishware and making some other changes.

And Penrod, also assistant executive director for Corrales MainStreet, believes it’s important for the company to become deeply immersed in the community. She volunteers for a horse and mule group, a farmer’s cooperative and several artist organizations.

Penrod decided to retain the studio’s beloved “honor system” practice of keeping the doors always open and providing a self-reporting form and lock box for purchasing at any hour. (Security cameras are in place to prevent honor system cheaters.)

“I think we decided it was time to move forward with a new name, a new brand but still honor the Hanselmanns,” she says. “I think Hanselmann’s closing was such a disappointment for everybody. But it’s not gone, and the value of the pottery, the quality, the artists, all of the things that made Hanselmann’s special are still here.”

How hard was it, starting over after the Hanselmann’s closure?

It was difficult, and it was complicated, but it was almost this seamless transition because we’ve been here for a long time. The employees were really the heart of what was keeping this business going. I think we really knew what to do and where we wanted to go; we just needed to make it happen. And we had all this experience already. Business ownership is definitely a new experience for me, but I was already managing this business, so it’s almost really similar — except now I get to make all the decisions.

What’s a decision you’re proud of?

One of the things is being an employee and seeing what everyone went through (when the store closed), so (I wanted to) have a way to have the artists here supported. We’ve got a policy for people to use the studio and the resources in their own time to make their own artwork. They have the freedom to support their own creativity and show what they’re capable of beyond making work for the company. Everyone can sell their personal art here.

Tell me about an unusual piece you have made for a customer.

Our most popular item is our thumb cup. It has a thumb indent in it. It’s really comfortable. But one customer asked if I could make a cup that had an indent for every single one of his fingers. The problem is I have very small hands, so I kind of made it to the best of my ability, trying to account for it needing to be bigger. Once I held it, it didn’t feel right in my hand, but I know it felt right in his. He said … he loved it.

Why did you decide to pursue pottery?

Originally, I was pursuing music, but started doing pottery in 2013 when I was at a community college. I love the material and the challenge. It’s one of those materials that you really have to get to know and work with. That was one of the things I struggled with, with oil painting and music was this idea of what it needs to be and not ever being able to meet that. I always wanted to be perfect. But clay — there’s a breaking point, a stopping point. You can only do so much to it before it dries; you can only do so much to it before it collapses on the wheel. And I think working with those limitations really helped me to let go of my expectations of things.

How are Sage Valley’s products different from Hanselmann’s?

The very first thing people will notice is the color. Before, there was a lot of cream-colored (pottery) with hand-painted floral designs and plants. Also, there were items not everyone uses anymore — some little oil lamps. The main line that we have now is the West Collection by head potter James West. It’s a speckled white color that is very simple and minimal. It can just fit in any setting, in a rustic-looking farmhouse or a really modern home. The great thing about it, too, is it just really lets your food shine. It came from a lot of customer input. Now, we’re going to start introducing some more color options.

Who are your favorite artists?

I definitely had a lot of historical artists that inspired me in college, but being here, a lot of my favorite artists are just a lot of my friends and local artists that I’ve met. I used to see art as this valuable thing, like “Oh, one day I’ll own this painting from this distinguished artist.” But over time, getting to know all these creative people and watching them grow, collecting their art — there’s something more special to me about that.

You spend a lot of time volunteering for a number of groups. Why?

When I started working here, I really loved it, but I felt like we were not as involved in the community as we could be. So I just started showing up at meetings. Fast forward to today: I am now involved in a lot. I noticed along the way there’s not a lot of young people in the village who volunteer. I just started saying yes to everything because a majority of the help people needed were skills that I had. I felt very welcomed by all of these organizations and people. I listened to a lot of them describing some of the challenges they were facing, and I thought, “Maybe I can help with that.”