Project Title: E-Commerce Architecture, SEO & AI Automation: VintageReveries
Role: Founder, Curator & Systems Architect
Timeline: 2011 – Present
Project Overview
VintageReveries.com is more than an e-commerce store; it is my living portfolio and technical sandbox. What began in 2011 as a channel to offload a massive archive of vintage clothing acquired from Donna Land has evolved into a 15-year case study in WordPress architecture, SEO, and AI-driven e-commerce. Over the years, it has served as a testing ground for everything from platform migrations (Etsy to WooCommerce) to advanced Google Analytics implementations.
The Proving Ground
This project has consistently been the keystone of my professional career. In 2020, I utilized the site’s rich data—demonstrating complex payment gateway integrations, alt-image tagging strategies, and organic search optimization—as a direct portfolio to transition from a B2B role into a specialized e-commerce marketing position. Even during periods of heavy corporate workloads, I architected the site to run on autopilot using tools like AutoPost Refresh and Nuelink to maintain its digital footprint.
The AI & Automation Era (2025-present)
Today, VintageReveries operates on a hyper-efficient, AI-powered tech stack. To bypass the traditional bottlenecks of vintage reselling, I engineered a proprietary workflow using Google AI Studio and the Gemini Pro API. I capture iPhone photos and voice-noted video inspections of garments, which the AI then processes into highly optimized, platform-specific listings. It generates 80-character snappy titles, long-form historical context for WooCommerce SEO, and character-limited copy for Depop and Mercari—all syndicated cross-platform via Vendoo.
Digital Preservation & Data Architecture
My work on this site extends deeply into historical archiving. Between 2011 and 2016, I scanned and published hundreds of pieces of ephemera. Recently, I used AI to OCR an out-of-print 1936 fashion dictionary, extracting terms and definitions into a structured CSV knowledge base to train future AI models. This project directly birthed my open-source Google Docs Archivist OCR script, blending my love for physical history with advanced data architecture.
The Technology Stack:
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CMS & Design: WordPress, WooCommerce, Divi Framework
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AI & Automation: Google AI Studio (Gemini Pro API), AltText.ai
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E-Commerce & Syndication: Vendoo, AutoPost Refresh, Nuelink
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LTD Infrastructure: BackgroundCut.co (image processing), MailPoet, Sociamonials
Measurable Highlights:
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Advanced AI Listing Workflow: Architected a Gemini Pro workflow that ingests video and voice notes to output fully formatted, SEO-optimized listings for 5 distinct marketplaces simultaneously.
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Organic Search Dominance: Generated 1.03 million organic image search impressions over 12 months by programmatically applying AltText.ai and capturing rich, historical long-tail keywords in WooCommerce descriptions.
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Data Extraction & Tool Building: Digitized a 1936 fashion dictionary into a structured dataset of over 5,000 terms, directly leading to the development of the open-source Google Docs Archivist OCR script.
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Resilient Content Architecture: Maintained a repository of over 383 published posts, utilizing automated recycling tools to sustain site health, traffic, and domain authority during demanding corporate tenures.
Posts about VintageReveries
What an 87-Year-Old Genealogy Mystery Taught Me About Research, Data, and Putting Your Work Into the World
Solving an 87-year-old genealogy mystery became an unexpected lesson in research, data literacy, AI-assisted analysis, collaboration, and the value of publishing imperfect work. The breakthrough did not come from one perfect source, but from generations of people preserving pieces of the puzzle.
Genealogy as Data Analysis: What Family History Research Has Taught Me About Bad Data, AI, and Finding the Truth
Genealogy is more than old records and family trees. It is data analysis, source evaluation, AI-assisted consistency checking, historical research, and the careful work of separating truth from bad data.
The Power of Self-Calibration (And Letting Go of 32 Vintage Fur Coats)
2025 was a year of massive, earth-shifting changes, and my body essentially demanded a pause. For me, celebration isn’t about bubble baths or forced positivity. It’s about recalibration. It’s about taking a hard look at the baggage you carry, realizing you don’t need it to survive anymore, and letting it go.