JOST Berlin Lederwaren

Flagship Store in Hackesche Höfe on Rosenthaler Straße

The Hackesche Höfe at Rosenthaler Straße 40/41 is the city’s best-known commercial courtyard complex, and over the years, some shops that are more than just walk-in businesses have persisted among the cinema, theater, and restaurants. One of them is the JOST flagship store. This is explicitly not a third-party retailer but the brand’s own store, and the selection is correspondingly wide. The company was founded in 2002 and has since grown into a family business. The founder and creative head is Dietmar Jost; the company is managed together with his daughter Josefine Jost. The company headquarters are not in Berlin, but in an old department store in the historic old town of Hachenburg in the Westerwald. The store can be reached via the S-Bahn station Hackescher Markt and the tram stop of the same name, both about two hundred meters away, or alternatively via the U-Bahn station Weinmeisterstraße. Those who enter the courtyards from Rosenthaler Straße will find themselves almost immediately in front of it. This is pleasant for buying a bag, as you can calmly lay out and try on the pieces, instead of navigating through a department in a department store.

Cowhide from certified tanning and a vegan line

The range includes bags and backpacks for women and men, as well as accessories such as charms, wallets, and cases. Categories range from shoulder bags, shoppers, and business bags to fanny packs, courier backpacks, travel bags, and toiletry bags. The model series have short names like FORM, CARRY, MOVE, FRAME, COURIER, DESK, or RANGE, which facilitates orientation in the store. JOST relies on two tracks for materials. The leather products are made from cowhide from LWG-certified tanneries, alongside which is a vegan selection made from post-industrial PET. For more than ninety percent of the products, 100% recycled PET is used as lining. Production primarily takes place with partners in the European Union, whose working conditions the company states it personally inspects. In terms of price, a leather backpack from the Lund series costs 349 Euros, a toiletry bag from the Glasgow series just under 90 Euros. Important when comparing: the same model names exist in several series and materials, so the price depends on the series and not solely on the model. Those who order online receive goods free of shipping costs within Germany for orders over 50 Euros and can subsequently return them.