Waikato Business News March/April 2023

34 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, MARCH/APRIL 2023
Wintec design graduate finds
her niche working with clay
A tutor introduced Bachelor of Design graduate Brogan Houghton to
local business Mystery Creek Ceramics during her final year at Wintec.
Now, thanks to that
connection and her
growing interest in
clay, Houghton is employed
there as a studio potter.
“One workshop and I was
hooked,” Brogan Houghton
says after her first encounter
with clay.
The designer-turned-potter
first attended a pottery wheel
workshop with her brother
which ignited a passion for the
medium.
But it didn’t all click
into place immediately for
Houghton. This Hamilton local
had no idea what to do after
finishing secondary school,
she was good at math and
focused on playing sports (she
even represented New Zealand
for Water Polo in Greece,)
however, skilled as she was,
she knew that was not her true
calling.
After school she worked at
a pharmacy giving herself the
time to ensure she was heading
in the right direction for her
future.
“If I had gone into study
straight after high school it
would have been business or
accounting,” Houghton says.
She wasn’t “out-there
creative at high school”, but
she did study the arts and
that inclination gave her the
grounding to head in a creative
direction.
“I wanted to focus on design,
I enjoy the digital side of design
and I like the process,” she says,
which is why she signed up for
the Wintec Bachelor of Design
(Visual Communication) in
2018. Little did she know at
the time that her three-year
design degree would lead her to
a career in pottery.
A few of her assignments
with open-ended briefs gave
her enough free reign to bring
her love of pottery into the
process.
“For one of my freelance
projects, I developed a design
brand for my pottery.”
It was during a conversation
with a tutor she learnt of
an opportunity to work for
Mystery Creek Ceramics, a
Waikato ceramic business
recently founded by Alex
Wilkinson.
“I started working for Alex
when my degree came to an
end. But I wasn’t completely
new to clay, I’ve been working
with clay and knew some of the
processes,” she says.
But of course, there was a
steep learning curve to develop
all the skills required of a
studio potter.
“On the job I’ve developed
new skills in hand building,
staining the clay, the process
of Nerikomi, loading kilns and
glazing - everything!”
Houghton describes her
work day as having a lot of
production elements and a
I do what I love
and get paid for
it. There’s not a
lot of jobs to be
employed as a
maker like this.
lot of repetition. The four-day
week sees her doing many
different jobs and her skills
have gone from strength to
strength.
There’s a rising demand for
handmade products, she says
“I think people want
something that’s a one-off.
Unique. There are different
markets for different pottery
out there.”
Houghton also teaches a
class at the Waikato Society
Brogan Houghton
of Potters and has her own
eponymous brand where she
sells her unique pieces.
She said that her design
degree has proved to be
essential.
“It’s been so helpful
because I have the skills and
ability to do some of my own
photography and then do all
my own design and product
design.”
Te Pūkenga design team
manager Julie Ashby says that
an education in design can
be a good base for students,
providing them with skills
that are transferable across
disciplines.
“The degree teaches
students how to develop
and refine an initial concept
through to the development
phase and into completion,
this approach can be applied to
many areas outside the purely
visual communication field of
work, turning design reality
into 3d objects,” Ashby says.
Houghton’s advice to
students in their final year:
“Do what you love and
stick to it. Connect with people
and keep your eyes open for
opportunities,” she says.
“Because sometimes your
career direction isn’t as linear
as you’d think.”
Oceanography researcher recognised
for making waves around the world
With a sea captain for a grandfather and childhood summers spent around the
sea, it’s no surprise that Professor Karin Bryan was drawn to studying the deep
blue. A passion for maths and physics led the University of Waikato Professor
to physical oceanography.
Professor Bryan is one of the new Royal Society Te Apārangi Ngā Ahurei a Te Apārangi Fellows. She has
been honoured for her research on estuarine processes, coastal morphodynamics, and climate-driven
variability in waves, which has gained international recognition over a period of more than 20 years.
“I like to think it is the most challenging because of the complexity of our coastline and the immediate
impact on coastal communities, and in turn, our impact on coastal ecosystems.”
Professor Bryan says climate change is a game changer for an already complex discipline.
“It is really hard to provide useful information in such an uncertain environment. The focus was first on
the slow onset hazard of sea level rise, but these massive events of the last few months are making it even
harder to visualise the future. There is no time to perfect a theory or model anymore, we need to learn and
improve really quickly to be able to help.”
The recognition that comes with the Fellowship also comes with a reminder for Professor Bryan.
“I think for my research it will remind me to focus on fewer but higher quality (and, most importantly,
more useful) outcomes,” she says.
It’s also a prompt to keep working with the next generation. As Dean of Te Mata Kairangi School of
Graduate Research, Professor Bryan is committed to demonstrating the value of graduate study in creating
useful knowledge for society.
“This year I want to focus on helping students get real value out of their university experience. It sounds
corny, but to show that universities still have a place in creating useful knowledge for societies.”
Her world-leading work in the oceanography of the coastal ocean and recent announcement following the
rigorous election process for Royal Society Fellows are testament to that value.
Ngā Ahurei a Te Apārangi Fellows are recognised by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for their distinction in
research and advancement of science, technology or the humanities. They are world leaders in their area of
research and scholarship.