Meet Charlotte Hohorst | Publicist / AVP of Design at JBC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Charlotte Hohorst and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Charlotte, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
Caring! I’m someone who cares a lot. I care about the details, I care about the process, I care about the people involved, I care about the execution and the results. I can’t imagine going through my career with a DGAF attitude. I’m not a perfect publicist, but my team and my clients can always count on me to care a lot about the work we’re doing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Sometimes I joke that I got my career in PR because I walked into the wrong office one day. It’s not exactly what happened, but it’s not that far off. I started interning in PR agencies at 17 on a fluke – and fell in love with the hustle. I would pretend to be an assistant, sneak into fashion shows, mingle with press, and tell clients I had just graduated college (the reality was that I had just graduated high school). I’ve stayed in the PR agency world ever since. I found my home at JBC in 2018. I was a bit burnt out by the fashion world and felt this need to get out and make a change. I wasn’t in the habit of being vulnerable at work at the time, but I had a post-NYFW, exhaustion-induced cry session with a friend in Madison Square Park and spilled my heart out. Asking for help that day led to the intro to the JBC managing director and partner, Melissa Duren Conner, who’s been my boss and mentor now for nearly 6 years. Vulnerability on a park bench equaled opportunity. Lesson learned. Although on paper it looks like I was just moving to another PR agency, that move was a pretty major pivot for me. I joined JBC’s lifestyle team (not fashion) and was hyper-focused on earned media and storytelling in a way that I hadn’t before. Over the years, I’ve learned from the best, and been able to help build JBC’s Design division from the ground up alongside the firm’s partners Jenny Meyer and Melissa Duren Conner – and SVP Ilana Rubin Dvir. There’s so much to be proud of in the work we do, but one thing I love about JBC is the way we lead with our values, and the way the company’s values mirror my own. I recall years ago going to a Fashionista Q&A with Laura Brown who was the EIC of InStyle at the time. I don’t remember the exact wording, but she was asked a question akin to “How did you survive 11+ years at Harper’s Bazaar?” Her answer was something like “I really felt like I was a part of it.” She went on to talk about how she felt like her ideas mattered, that she was working alongside people that were laddering up to the same goals, same values, same magic. It stuck with me. I love the work we do at JBC because I feel like it’s all so much bigger than we even realize. They’re not just rugs – they’re rugs that are democratizing design. It’s not just a slime museum – it’s a movement to make people smile and connect offline. They’re not just baskets, they’re baskets made by women in Africa who are lifting up their entire communities with economic opportunity. It’s not just furniture – it’s furniture that’s combatting disposability culture and landfill waste. It’s not just lawn care – it’s a potentially planet-saving consumer product that is going to remove pesticides from our backyard. We work with people, brands, and businesses that care – harkening back to your previous question about what value matters most to me. I love working alongside people who care as much as me – it doesn’t matter what their passion point is, but having it is everything to me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

I think LA is more fun to live than it is to visit, so when I have friends in town I try to make them feel as local as possible. I find that the most fun, interesting, and exciting people and conversations are all at people’s homes… Sorry if that makes for a boring interview response, but it’s the truth! LA is all about the dinner party or the house party. If you’re in town and you get invited to someone’s place (even if they’re a friend of a friend of a friend) just say yes! House parties aside, I’m a west sider and a hard core beach person. A perfect day to me is waking up for 8am yoga at Sweat in Santa Monica, fueling up at Erewohn with juice or coffee, grabbing a sandwich at Bay Cities and maybe a bottle of wine, and hauling it all over to Tower 26 in Ocean Park with a good book or a backgammon board with friends. I like to mosey into one of my haunts like Dudley Market, Fig Tree, R+D, or Night + Market Sahm by sunset for dinner, and then I’m home, showered and tucked in for a movie by 8pm. When the beach isn’t an option, I’m looking for contemporary art and a good margarita. I’m lucky to live a few minutes from the Hammer Museum and am never disappointed – not by the art and not by the margaritas. If I have the energy to drive, I’ll make my way to DLTA to Hauser & Wirth, The Broad, MOCA, and some of the other galleries as well – usually capped by tacos + drinks at Damian or Ditroit. An unexpected, no-fail museum in LA is the Petersen Automobile Museum. It’s got everything from famous movie cars to historical vehicles to F1 racers. I’m yet to meet someone who didn’t love it.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
When it comes to mentors and supportive industry friends, I’ve been really lucky throughout my entire career journey. I am where I am because of the people who believed in me along the way. My life changed when I met Evelyn Dallal in 2011. She’s the reason I work in PR and is still my mentor today. She is a brilliant and legendary publicist who can’t walk a city block in NYC without someone stopping her to say hi. I feel so lucky to have learned from her for so many years and still be able to call her my friend and mentor. I even talk like her sometimes!

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlottehohorst/

Image Credits
Courtesy: NYC Ballet Young Patrons Courtesy: Parachute Home Courtesy: PR Net