Alchemy Stories

What was this and who was it for?

A portfolio showcase project designed around an artisanal interior brand specializing in cyanotype prints, botanical installations, and handcrafted home décor. Creative assets remain property of Alchemy Stories.

What was broken, frustrating, or missing?

Generic grid-based e-commerce storefronts fail to convey the tactile texture and physical presence of handcrafted art, while customers struggle to judge scale and room compatibility.

Design & Platform Boundaries

• [1]Zero continuous monthly hosting overhead ($0/mo baseline).
• [2]Seamless AR experience on iOS (Quick Look) and Android (Scene Viewer) without native app installs.
• [3]Lightweight content management allowing operators to update collections and journals without code changes.

Architectural & UX Strategy

Developed a serverless architecture combining vanilla JavaScript and Firebase with Google's `<model-viewer>` for browser-native WebAR and paper-folding tactile scroll animations.

Execution Highlights

What was compromised & what was gained?

• /Chose vanilla JavaScript and custom properties over a heavy frontend framework to keep asset payloads light for 3D model loading.
• /Relied on serverless Firebase free-tier quotas rather than managing dedicated database compute.

Verifiable Outcome

A distinctive digital flagship that pairs atmospheric, story-led brand presentation with practical 3D spatial commerce and zero maintenance overhead.