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Jennifer
Johnston
From the kitchen
to the codebase.
I was a Red Seal cook before I ever touched a line of code. Kitchens taught me how to work under pressure, move fast, keep quality high, and never ship something I wouldn't put my name on.
I enrolled in a bootcamp. They were teaching outdated material. I dropped out and taught myself. React. TypeScript. Three.js. Systems architecture. Everything from first principles.
I built a 3D cyberpunk portfolio in React Three Fiber, applied for a frontend role at AIVIA, and beat 300+ applicants. Within months I was sole frontend owner of Communikit — an emergency communication platform serving 200+ Indigenous communities.
Now I run Illure Designand I'm building Alkemy Market — a federated e-commerce platform taking on Etsy with a creator-first model.
Red Seal Cook
Professional kitchens. Discipline, speed, and an obsession with craft that never left.
Self-Taught Dev
Dropped the bootcamp. Learned React, TypeScript, Three.js, and systems thinking from scratch.
AIVIA / Communikit
Sole frontend owner. 1,341-file Redux migration. Built the full CI/CD pipeline. Served 200+ communities.
Illure Design / Alkemy
Co-founder. Building a federated e-commerce platform and running client work that matters.
Selected projects
Alkemy Market
Federated e-commerce platform challenging Etsy. Vendors as merchants of record via Stripe Connect. Custom drag-and-drop site builder (PotionKit), anti-slop quality enforcement, tiered subscription model.
Kyle Kasawski
Personal brand site for Kyle Kasawski — fast, clean, and fully responsive. Custom typography, smooth transitions, and a CMS-backed content structure that's easy to update.
Richard's Quality Auto
Website for Gibbons-based auto repair shop. Focus on local SEO, easy appointment booking, and a clean service overview. Built to convert local searches into booked customers.
Communikit
Emergency communication platform serving 200+ Indigenous communities. Led the 1,341-file Redux to TanStack Query + Zustand migration. Built the Alerts module and full CI/CD pipeline.
Candas Jane Dorsey
Author website for speculative fiction writer. Next.js/Sanity/Vercel build with WebGL fluid animation hero derived from acrylic painting and halftone portrait treatment.
Coffee Bureau CRO
Conversion rate optimization strategy and interactive prototype for Edmonton cafe. CRO audit, industry benchmarks, working menu prototype with Square integration roadmap.
Tech stack
The tools I reach for daily. Shipping production code with confidence.
React
+ Next.js App Router
TypeScript
Strict mode, always
Three.js
R3F, WebGL, GLSL
Tailwind CSS
Design systems
CI/CD
Actions, Playwright, Jest
Postgres
Neon + Drizzle ORM
Vercel
Edge, Serverless, ISR
Blender
3D modeling & scenes
Let's build something.
Currently open for freelance projects, contract frontend roles, and interesting collaborations. Edmonton-based, remote-ready.