Carolyn Cohen

1. Tell us about yourself – What is your educational and professional background (schools, degrees, jobs that led you to your current endeavor, location)

BA Psychology, Arizona State University, 1993
Master of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine, American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2002

After college, I worked in the field of social work but was quickly burning out. I sought Acupuncture for help with a chronic health issue and found great relief. Suddenly I was healthy and turned on to a new career path! I had massaged my friends informally for years and they encouraged me to go professional. I took workshops on massage and then completed my certificate for Swedish & Chinese sports massage as part of the acupuncture curriculum at ACTCM. I had also been practicing yoga consistently since 1993. When I graduated with my Master’s, I depended on my massage income while developing my acupuncture practice. Before I received my license, however, I took a well-needed vacation to Thailand, where I learned Thai massage.
As a massage therapist and anatomy geek, I’d long understood the therapeutic applications of yoga and offered yoga recommendations to my clients. I put all that knowledge to work in 2006 when I received my yoga training certificate. Also, a year prior, I collaborated with three other people to create a blended partner yoga practice called AcroYoga. Through that work, I co-led trainings, taught workshops in Europe and Asia, and became very comfortable in front of groups, teaching and (sometimes) performing.

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1. Tell us about yourself – What is your educational and professional background (schools, degrees, jobs that led you to your current endeavor, location)
I’m a high school graduate, and did a few years of college. Then I had an opportunity to take over my dad’s construction business for 15 years. Then I took the money from that and invested into PJ’s bar.

2. How did you first get started in your industry? What are you most passionate about in your line of work?
I’m most passionate about making money. I have always been more interested in business than the actual industry. In my concrete business, though, I was very interested in doing a good job well, since people will only hire you again if the job is done well. So, I was more interested in quality of the out come of my work in that industry. I took pride in my work, and it was important to me to that people had good quality work in their homes. With the bar, I just wanted to make money.

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1. Tell us about yourself – What is your educational and professional background (schools, degrees, jobs that led you to your current endeavor, location)
I am an Independent Fashion Designer. I own and operate a small studio/boutique called FROCK in a rural (but progressive) Connecticut town. I have a business partner in the shop. We both have our own clothing lines but share the responsibilities of maintaining the retail space. We make everything on site and have a beautiful, little showroom. I received a Bachelors of Fine Art from The Art Institute of Boston in 1996. I also studied painting in Italy. I’ve worked numerous retail, graphic design, web design jobs over the years. They’ve all lent themselves to my current career.

2. How did you first get started in your industry? What are you most passionate about in your line of work? My mother has been a Tailor/Seamstress my whole life and I have always had an interest in Fashion, so, with sewing in my blood, I decided to finally combine my art and design background with clothing construction. And it turns out that my favorite part of my job is the actual sewing. It’s incredibly meditative.

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