Etsy turns 3 years old on June 18, 2008.  We decided it was the perfect time to contact some of our "Elder Etsians" and pay them a little tribute.  momentofstars was the first official Etsian. She joined Etsy on June 18, 2005, and as you can see if you click through and see her shop's url, her user id is number 96. Rob, Chris, and Haim — Etsy's original founders — are numbers 93,94,95 (1-92 were test data). It's your moment to shine, momentofstars!

Please introduce yourself and talk a bit about what you make.
Hi, I'm Fawne DeRosia aka momentofstars and I'm an artist, wife, and mommy living in a small town in central Georgia. I spend most of my time taking care of my family and working at the local arts council. In my spare time I paint, draw, make linocuts and zines and just try to keep busy creatively. I consider myself a jack-of-all-trades. I'm always buying supplies for new things I want to learn, so I have unfinished projects stashed all over the place. I've tried needle felting, sewing, jewelry making, crochet, and knitting.

Hearken back to the old days of Etsy...Any fond memories?
I remember first hearing about Etsy! I remember attending the first ICE event in Atlanta and loving every second of it. Etsy was on the give-away bag and I just had to know all about it. The next day I logged on and created my store. I made my first sale just days later.


[My studio's located in an almost finished guestroom in our basement. I've set up a small desk so my five year old can work beside me. Her name is Mazzy and she says she wants to be an artist when she grows up. ]

How has what you create changed over the past few years, if at all?
I started out painting cute critters onto little wood plaques, then I moved on to little collages and oil paintings and now I'm working on making a lot of linocut prints. I think I'm much more confident in my style and ability and I hope it shows.

Do you see yourself on Etsy for the long haul?
Definitely. Now that my daughter is in school, I'm working on making my Etsy shop better. Before I kept it casual and updated the products at random times. Nowadays I'm trying to update at least once a week and keeping track of my projects on my blog so customers can see what I'm working on at that time.


What have you learned about selling?
It's the little things that are important, like packaging and including a little thank you note with your sold items. People really appreciate that! Also, selling is a bit of a rollercoaster: sales can be up up up one week then down the next.

What do you want for the future of Etsy?
Just keep on keeping on! I love seeing new features on Etsy and I especially love seeing new hearts for my shop (hint hint)!

See who else on Etsy has a Birthday today!