Sara Thomson, potter in Auckland

Sara Thomson makes pottery in her Auckland studio, a short drive from the markets where most of her work finds its first home.

Her signature pieces are sgraffito platters: a layer of coloured slip is brushed over the clay, then the design is carved back through it by hand, line by line, before the first firing. Stags, swans, monarch butterflies and bees turn up most often, alongside word stones and plaques in te reo Maori.

The glazes are mixed in small batches in the studio. Some, like the deep ocean blue that pools in the bottom of her serving bowls, took dozens of test tiles to get right. Even now the kiln likes to add its own opinion, which is why no two pieces ever match exactly.

Everything in the shop is made start to finish by Sara. If you would like something made just for you, a wedding gift, a name plaque or a full set of bowls, she takes a small number of commissions each season.