Project Manager
Larry Conklin joined Translations International in 2002 with more than 40 years of experience in the graphic arts business. In fact, he was born into the business: His father owned one of the largest type houses in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Larry began learning the trade at age 14, working by his dad’s side, tidying up the shop and making deliveries — mostly by bus — around the Beltway. He eventually moved on from the family-owned business — his press type and IBM Composer days long ago transitioned to the computer screen.
Larry’s lifetime of training and knowledge informs his work with the translators and clients of Translations International. Whether it’s a government agency that wants a brochure produced with a consistent look in multiple languages or a private company that needs help formatting a logo or a letterhead into a language that requires more space, Larry makes it all come together. His extensive collection of templates, gathered over his career, is amazing and helps our clients stay consistent with their messaging.
Through the years, he has worked with languages ranging from Navajo to Simplified/Traditional Chinese to Tagalog. His skills transcend languages: “I like being able to help my client wind their way through the complexities of translation,” he says. “It is not as simple as cutting and pasting words into Google Translate. There are variations, intricacies and nuances that need to be considered.”
Offline, Larry’s creativity continues with his role as a member of a pirate band — The Motley Tones. At the grill, this pirate is known to prefer the Eastern North Carolina-style method of barbecue, which is vinegar-and-pepper based, over the Western style that uses a tomato base. In addition to two children and a granddaughter, Larry and his wife enjoy spending time with their kittens, Grayson and Frankie (together they are known as Grayson Frankie — our resident wordsmith’s wordplay on “Grace and Frankie,” the title of a popular Netflix series).