Interview with Mimi Vollgraf
Mimi Vollgraf is a Berlin based photographer. In this interview, she shares with us what makes Berlin and particularly her neighbourhood Prenzlauer Berg special to her and why this city is specifically advantageous for photographers.
Reading time: 9 minutes
In conversation with Katharina Müller
Photography by Mimi Vollgraf
Photo: Self portrait Mimi Vollgraf
Dear Mimi, at CONTU we know you as the cover photographer of VOLUME 1 – The Berlin Issue. Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself?
— I am Mimi. I am a photographer and have been living in Berlin for 8 years. Prior to that, I worked as a designer and started with photography four years ago. Design and photography is of course linked closely and I already found it fascinating at university. Through a project, for which I took photos, too, I discovered my love for photography. I like photographing fashion and taking portraits and while I like to show beautiful fashion, I’m very interested in fascinated people. For me it is amazing, that I’m able to make feel people good who tend to dislike being in front of the camera and show them that they are great people and look really good on photos. I want to make them shine when they see themselves on photos.
When did you move to Berlin and why?
— I have been living in Berlin since 2014 and I initially moved here for a job as a designer. It was always clear to me: I did not want to stay in Dortmund. A lot of people from school or university moved on to the next larger city, to Düsseldorf or Cologne. For me, the next step after University in Dortmund and Great Britain was going to Hamburg for an employment with a direct view onto river Elbe. I liked it a lot. Hamburg can be chic but rough, too, and I like the choices that Hamburg has to offer. I lived there for 1.5 years, but then needed a change. I went to Berlin!
Was there a key moment that led you to Berlin?
— I can remember one specific situation. Having visited Berlin with my parents before, where we mostly stayed in the West of the city, for instance around Friedrichstraße, I thought of Berlin as boring. And then, I came here once visiting a friend who lives in Kreuzberg and we rode our bikes along Oranienburger Straße. It was summer, the sun was shining, there was so much going on! The coffee service was clinking, I smelled coffee and all sorts of spices and pastry. I loved this diversity. And while I was riding my bike through the summer’s wind, I thought: I’d like to live here sometime.
You live in Prenzlauer Berg. What do you like about your Kiez?
— I find Prenzlauer Berg incredibly cosy. The area between Kollwitzplatz and Helmholtzplatz is possibly one of the most beautiful corners in Berlin. It is beautiful at anytime of the year, now in autumn quite fantastic. It has some cosiness but also some liveliness to it. People are in a good mood and have a sense of beauty and want to have a good time. At any time of the day I love strolling the streets with music on my ears; I love the broad streets and the cobblestones and the colourful festive flags in Chorinerstraße. Ich fühle mich pudelwohl, I feel very comfortable here and each time, when I walk around the corner and into my street I have this sense of being at home. Oh, and Hozans Obst Gemüse-Eck in Kollwitzstraße has always a very nice selection of flowers. Berlin has a special smell, too, when the chimneys are working in winter. It has something very homely.
Which culinary spots do you recommend?
— I love KINK on Pfefferberg and Pfefferberg (a former brewery) itself for its special atmosphere. I very much love Kajumi, they have their own coffee roastery now, Farbenkaffee. It is a wonderful place to sit outside and relax for a bit on wonderfully red vintage chairs, which I’d like to have for myself and lots of lovely flowers. Besides excellent coffee, Kajumi also has incredible pastry. I love the shortcrust pastry called Astrookie – filled with crème brûlée and white chocolate. They also have a variety of Laugensandwiches, tastily stuffed with goat cheese or scarmorza and much love. What I also really like is their home made granola with joghurt and berry compott in jars. I can remommend Kajumi a lot. Thursdays I like walking to the Ökomarkt, the organic farmers market on Kollwitzplatz with many great stands. My favourite one by Oshione has gluten-free and vegan baked goods – an absolute blessing. They also have cinnamon buns made of sourdough, rolls with herbs, pizzas and incredibly delicious muffins without artificial sugar. And the people working at the stands are great, too. I love going to markets and especially during lunch break. For breakfast, I recommend the Plant Base café in Prenzlauer Allee. Whether you’re vegan or not, you always find very tasty snacks and foods. They have a very good selection and big breakfast plates for one or two persons and I believe the most delicious tofu scramble I have ever had! There’s also gluten-free bread and „bacon“ made of coconut pieces and a variety of dips and granola and all is served beautifully. Although you sit right next to the Prenzlauer Allee – in the mornings with sunshine in your face – it is a good spot to sit. Behind the large glass cabinet, there is always freshly baked goods like Cookie Dough Balls or Rafaello tarte. All baked goods are described whether they have allergens or not (gluten-free, sugarfree, nutfree etc.), which I don’t find particularly usual but very helpful. They also have their own cookbook and are incredibly nice.
Photo: Kajumi by Mimi Vollgraf
And what do you like to do in your spare time?
— I love getting up really early in the mornings and then, while Berlin is still asleep, wander the old streets of Prenzlauer Berg. I like both the early morning and later in the evening, when it’s not too busy or too crowded and then you can be more aware of the magic of Berlin. I like to go to cafés in the mornings and sit down with a coffee or take a café to go. I like exploring other areas of Berlin, too, and drift along and discover and seeing new things. Walk the world with open eyes, so to speak. I love cookbooks, I love reading in cookbooks, buying them and finding inspiration. I love listening to audio books, podcasts and meeting dear people and talk and exchange – and enjoying life. And meditating, I love meditating. And again: Achtsam durch die Welt zu laufen, walking consciously through life. Also, I find writing down new realizations always exciting and interesting.
How do you perceive Berlin as a photographer?
— Very exciting! Here, you have all the range of possibility, the locations and the studios. There is the very urban, where you can shoot outside but there is the old, which I find very fascinating – I love the Berlin of the 20s. Berlin has so much history, that is inspiring. And Berlin has an incredible choice of exhibitions and you can absorb and enjoy them. There is C/O Berlin and Museum für Fotografie and f³ – freiraum für fotografie for instance. Also, Mitte has so many galleries and numerous museums. I am member of the Female Photo Club and in the Berlin group we connect and exchange a lot. In general, as a photographer in Berlin, you can connect with so many great people and products; there are so many small labels and sustainable brands and a lot of photo studios, too. As a photographer, I find Berlin very inspiring, motivating and I feel super comfortable with all the options available.
Where is Berlin the most beautiful for you?
— To me, Berlin is the most beautiful early in the morning in a café without the stress of the day. I then take a moment and enjoy a cup of coffee and I like doing that at Kajumi. Insel der Jugend is an incredibly beautiful place; it‘s nice and green and an ideal place to lean back. I find Berlin very beautiful when driving on a scooter through the broad streets. On Saturday late at night, I drove back from Neukölln to Prenzlauer Berg on a scooter and I thought it was so cool to see how diverse the city is and how the cityscape changes and when you pass Alexanderplatz with the broad streets and the wind in your hair. I feel an absolute sense of freedom when I pass Berliner Dom and Unter den Linden by the scooter early in the morning.
Which was your last discovery in Berlin?
— Actually, I discovered Café LUC this morning in Stargarder Straße in the old premises of Liquid Garden. I have passed this many times and they opened at the beginning of the year I believe. As the name suggests, it has a French flair and they have marble desks and a friendly and chatty barista who explained which coffee beans I’m about to drink, Colombian I think and offered me a glass of water although I ordered a coffee to go. It looked really nice!