Meet Katy - our member of the month in November!

Introduction round: Who are you and where are you from?
My name is Katy Otto, I live in Berlin and work here as a freelance photographer. I also founded a fashion blog to connect woth other people who are interested in fashion and culture. I often do interviews with designers or artists of the scene.

What made you come to Berlin?
I came here in 1998 right after my photography training in Freiburg. All of my friends were living in Berlin at that time so that was the reason to also go here.

What exactly do you do? What's in the pipeline for the near future?
I'm a photographer working as a freelancer for portraits, fashion, events and stills. I was owning a studio for a long time but 2 years ago I started to work as a freelancer. I also wanted to change my target group. Then I was searching for a new solution to have kind of a proper business address and found one: Office Club! In the future I want to work for companies that need photos for their websites or products. I would also love to get the chance to make more fashion shoots because my faible for fashion fits well to my job.

Since when do you cowork at mobilesuite Coworking Berlin?
I'm not sure when I started to cowork at Office Club exactly...maybe since 2013 / 2014? [Yep, 2013 it was!]

What is the benefit of using a coworking space for you?
At the beginning I just used Office Club as a business adress, but later I was renting one of the meeting rooms to have small photo shoots there. It's a cool location and also has a fair pricing...

Which questions / problems could you help your coworking neighbour with?
In Germany you still need to have solid business stationary - a great website and business cards for example. The same applies to business photos. I'm very good at taking business photos. Some weeks ago I took photos of the new interior at Office Club, a very big project which turned out quite cool.

Do you have favourite spots in Berlin? Something to recommend / consider especially for people coming here?
Berlin is full of great and different places. I use them for my shoots, mostly outdoors. There's a fast development in every district. You should go out, network with people who have similar interests, join events and support each other without thinking of profits. Marketing mainly works long-term. 2 years ago I founded a fashion blog and visited shows and parties of designers, took pictures backstage and front row without havening a job there, just for free. By spreading my pics on Facebook & Co I became known in the scene. Now I'm happy to present these photos in my own exhibition: BACK STAGE FRONT ROW. Opening is soon: November 4th, 7 pm at Pavillon Milchhof: Schwedter Str. 232 in 10435 Berlin. Networking paid off and Berlin is full of open-minded people. This is my way of saying thank you for that. The opening will be a big party!

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Thanks a lot and all the best to you, Katy!