I'm currently working as lead web developer for heels.com and don't have much time for freelance work right now, but I still take the occasional extra job if it's particularly interesting, or particularly easy, or particularly lucrative. I still do some xcart customizations, but I really hate x-cart and am doing less and less of that as time goes on. I've been doing most of my PHP work lately with the Kohana framework and I'm really starting to appreciate good frameworks and PHP5's OOP techniques now that PHP4 is dead. The MVC architecture of Kohana is not only fast and easy to use, it has also made it MUCH easier (eg. possible) for me to collaborate with others developers on my most recent projects and to have multiple people working on the same thing, using SVN to keep everything in sync. Anyway, here's some more info about what I do and what I'm good at.
Recent Clients:- www.heels.com / www.heels.tv - My current gig (as of Fall 2009) where I'm leading development of their ecommerce platform. This mostly entails tons of PHP development with the Kohana framework and copious amounts of JQuery coding with a smattering of Flash development. Much of what I do at heels.com now involves integrating with 3rd party APIs such as SalesForce, PriceGrabber and too many affiliate and tracking networks to keep track of. I also built some custom video players for the sister site heels.tv. Currently, Heels.com is recognized as one of the fastest growing women's shoe sites on the internet. Recently we were honored in the keynote speech at the Shopping.com conference in LasVegas as a small upstart ecommerce business that is giving the established players a run for their money.
- www.bonobospants.com - Built and launched version 2 of their ecommerce system over the course of about 6-9 months and helped transition the ongoing post-launch development work to their in-house staff as I was unwilling/unable to move to NYC for a permanent position. I'm firmly committed to living in the West or Northwest (or Canada).
- www.realestate-school.com - Detailed in my old downloadable resume at the bottom of this page. Handled all development aspects of their web and electronic product offerings plus a whole lot more. Also did some consulting work for them after leaving my full time position there.
- www.deadgoodundies.com - implemented a Manufacturer Coupon modification to their existing coupon system which had already been modded to account for special European VAT display issues.
- www.soulfulartsdance.com - This community dance studio had a big heart, but no money and no clue. I gave them a clue and then I set them up with a simple Joomla-based web site on the cheap that they can manage themselves.
So how did I end up in this place? Until August of 2007, I held a position as the Executive Vice President of The Real Estate School, Inc. where I managed all aspects of their online operations and all electronic/software infrastructure, as well as serving double-duty as a graphic designer and audio/video production "hack". I programmed online learning applications in PHP and Flash and spent about 5 years there helping them become a dominant player in the Florida online real estate education market by leveraging all my design and programming skills to conceive and create products that our competition couldn't duplicate without bankrupting themselves. I firmly believe I had something to do with raising the bar on web sites in the online real estate school industry, at least in Florida. We forced other schools to change their strategies and offer better products and services. It was there that I learned what a HUGE difference customer service can make in one's long term prospects for online success. Over 50% of our new business came from word-of-mouth referrals, the rest through careful SEO and adwords spending. Prior to my work with The Real Estate School, I did consulting for a handful of fortune 5000 companies in addition to hundreds of individual clients through various employers. In terms of my skills, you will find few who can keep up with my diversity. I am a very well rounded graphic designer and web programmer who as been deep into internet technology since about 1994, when I put together one of the first online versions of a daily newspaper in the entire country, a local daily known as "The Florida Flambeau" which was eventually bought by a competitor. Since then, my skills have expanded from professional photography, graphic design and desktop publishing to include virtually every technology currently used on computers or the web including C++, PHP, MySQL, Apache, Linux and Windows server administration, Flash design and Actionscript (all versions), XHTML, CSS. Over the past 5 years I have also developed a complete knowledge of white-hat SEO techniques, which is a MUST for anyone who wants to sell something online. This is not superficial laymen-type knowledge, but rather extensive work in each of these technologies and I have plenty of examples to show for the effort, especially PHP/MySQL and Flash/Actionscript and SEO. I have designed and programmed Flash-based games, Dreamweaver Extensions, Flash components, PHP libraries, Windows desktop applications and continue to work on numerous ideas in my small amount of free time. I am also an avid musician, gardener, and nature lover. If you have a short or long-term PHP/MySQL/XHTML/CSS/Flash or related project you would like to discuss, please feel free to click my contact link . In the unlikely event that you are reading this while sitting in the Vancouver headquarters of some really cool company that wants a full time PHP or Flash junkie on staff and would help relocate and delouse an American immigrant, please contact me immediately. There's a good chance I'll drop whatever I'm doing to come work for you if it will help me become a Canadian citizen and emigrate there. I will also take offers from any company located in New Zealand or any other country where they have big-ass mountains with snow on them, universal healthcare, and they don't hate people who only speak English fluently (Le Québec désolé, mon Français est horrible). Here's an outdated resume and the job description from my last official full time position before I started freelancing. Thanks for taking the time to read my gratuitous self promotion. I hope to hear from you soon. Regards,
Brett Brewer
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Brett's Resume 
