About Carolyn Holm
I am a translator (French-to-English), copywriter, editor and professional English trainer. I am American as well as a naturalized French citizen and have been working in Paris as an independent communications consultant for over 10 years. I partner with leading French fashion brands, trend consultants, art and antique galleries, and fine spirits producers to adapt their messages in nuanced English for a worldwide audience.
After earning an honors degree in English Literature from Princeton University in 1991, I started my career at Gap Inc’s San Francisco headquarters, as one of 12 members of the company’s inaugural Merchandising Training Program. Thanks to that experience and the six years I spent in Product Development at Talbots in NYC, I have extensive knowledge of fabric development and testing, patternmaking and fitting, design of clothing and accessories for women and kids, merchandise planning and distribution, international logistics, visual merchandising and retail sales (store, catalog, ecommerce).
In my next role as Editorial Director at The Doneger Group, I expanded my knowledge of color and trend forecasting as well as the editorial and production process for print and online content. I managed the Editorial, Art, Web Design and Photography departments, producing B2B content for our fashion industry clients to advise them on trends at retail, wholesale and designer runways around the world.
My love of fashion and decoration started early; I began sewing in my early teens and have never stopped obsessing over fabrics and trims. My other early passion was French, which I had the good fortune to learn at my elementary and high schools in San Francisco. At university I continued studying French and added art history to my list of passions. I still love to make and admire beautiful things, especially those made by artisans devoted to perfecting their craft. I DIY everything from clothes to curtains, picture frames to jewelry, business cards to websites.
It all came together when I moved to Paris in 2011. I dove back into French, reinforcing my language skills at Institut Campus Langues (level B2-C1). In 2012 I acquired DELF certification for level B2 and currently speak and write French at C1 (advanced fluency) level. I soon recognized that French businesses with Anglophone customers and partners have enormous need for native English speakers to write and translate content. I’m proud to have built a portfolio of clients who appreciate my specialized expertise; understanding their business objectives, customers and culture makes all the difference in creating localized content that hits the right note.