16/02/2026
“Sometimes I get a phone call from the stockist saying there’s a big dent in the side, and I say ‘no that’s actually meant to be there, that’s my thumb print!’.” Karen Morton from Kaz Ceramics is a ceramicist based on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.
I was directing, co-shooting, and editing this piece for realestate.com.au, at a time when the site was known mainly as the place to buy a house and was launching a new Lifestyle brand about creating a home.
We produced the Behind Design series to show the mess, the craft, and the humans behind the objects we fill our spaces with.
Karen was all about the wobble, the quirk, and the actual human hands making the thing. Nobody really falls in love with “perfect.” We fall in love with the thumbprints.
As Karen put it: “There’s a measuring tape in the studio but it’s got dust on it and it’s never been used.”