My sincere thanks

  Happy 12th birthday, deviantART!

In two days, on August 7th, deviantART will celebrate our 12th year on the Web.  As deviantART's third employee (behind spyed and chris), I've spent over 40% of my life working for the site.  

The last 12 years have oftentimes been a roller-coaster ride of the highest highs and the lowest lows, but having the opportunity to help build a site like deviantART -- that truly impacts the lives of millions of people -- while getting to work with good friends and talented peers, has been well worth any hardships.  It's been the best experience of my life.  

My time at deviantART has been an incredible ride and I've learned more than I thought was possible.  From gifted co-workers to sage advisors and mentors, I'm forever grateful for every relationship and interaction, and I'd like to thank everyone who has made it possible for deviantART to get where it is today.  Most importantly, I'd like to thank the deviantART community.  Few sites can claim they've been around for 12 years and none of deviantART's successes and accomplishments would have been made possible without the deviants who continue to call deviantART home.

Today, deviantART has amassed over 23 million members and receives 56 million unique visitors per month.  Even so, we're just at the cusp of what's to come.  Enormous opportunities are ahead -- ones that will allow us to connect people and the arts in entirely new ways -- and I'm excited for the world to see all the amazing things we'll develop through community and technology.

~Heidi