Hi! I’m Michael Blommaert: translator and storyteller.

Translator, author, life coach, HR consultant, legal advisor: throughout my personal and professional life, my focus has always been on building bridges and telling stories. Over the past decade, as I have transitioned to translating full-time, I have consistently brought the same passion, dedication and equality-driven approach to communication to the texts that my clients need to reach their target audience.

My background

Professionally active in English-speaking international settings for two decades, I spent much of my career as a consultant in HR, legal advice, change management and interim management in entertainment and retail. Following a career change nearly ten years ago, I now brings the same passion, commitment and storytelling-driven approach to the field of translation. In my professional practice, I draw on my law degree, corporate background, and enthusiasm for technology and innovation to help my clients navigate new markets effectively.

My services

I translate from Dutch into English and from English into Dutch, partnering with an expert proofreader of the target language to ensure excellent quality. Creative texts that tell a strong story are where my writing style truly shines, but I’m also more than capable of translating texts about management, IT, sales, HR and organizational psychology. Although I have a law degree and am competent to offer legal translations, I prefer to focus on texts related to intellectual property and labour law.

My portfolio

My translation portfolio includes a series of ebooks and articles on IT risk management and auditing, chapters for an academic reference book on international treaty law, corporate reports on HR strategy and employment policy, psychological profiles for HR evaluation purposes, a book on relationship therapy, three film scripts, a novel on Renaissance painters in Amsterdam, a series of interior decoration magazines, and collaborative translations to help assess refugee resilience. Over the past few years, my work has included co-translation of a published book (Good Enough: Autobiography of a Druglord – Johan Toet), several weeks translating a board game for modeling environmental restoration projects, litigation documents for an ongoing court case, and a whole series of shorter texts on IT, intellectual property and network architecture.

My trusted colleagues

I am also a proud part of The Language Collective. The translators, editors and copywriters at The Language Collective are dedicated to professional quality, personal accountability and creative collaboration. Each of us has a flourishing freelance practice of our own, but if you’re looking for a team of experts to handle a bigger project, we’d be delighted to discuss options. We also have an extensive network of experienced professional translators in other language pairs and can refer clients as appropriate. More details at http://thelanguagecollective.nl!