By SUMMER BRADFORD
Each year 900 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged. The volume of cards exchanged on Valentine’s Day is second only to Christmas cards. This year, friends and lovers on all levels have a variety of greeting card options to send.
Michelle Buckley, Valentine’s Day expert at Hallmark said Hallmark has a team that works on Valentine’s Day cards year-round. The process of making a card begins with a kickoff meeting sponsored by the editor of the particular card line. The editor does research before the meeting to find out current trends and consumer demands, Buckley said.
In response to this year’s trends, Hallmark has developed a card line called “real life, real relationship” cards, Buckley said.
“Valentine’s Day is typically a holiday for lovers, but this line offers a different look at the holiday,” she said.
The “real life, real relationship” line has cards for mothers to send to their sons, granddaughters to their grandmothers and relationships other than romantic relationships, Buckley said.
“It expands the list of people to sends cards to for Valentine’s Day,” she said.
Hallmark is also offering a “Bittersweet” line of cards this year because “the holiday isn’t always happy for people who have gone through a divorce, a breakup or have lost a loved one.
“These cards say, ‘We’re still thinking of you,’ because sometimes it isn’t always appropriate to send really happy cards to people who are suffering,” Buckley said.
Hallmark also caters to the up-and-coming high tech generation with its electronic greetings.
Hallmark.com spokesperson, Kathi Mishek, said electronic greetings were created to accommodate consumers’requests.
Hallmark has a variety of 1,500 electronic greetings. Ninety of those are specific to Valentine’s Day, but the site also has a choice of love greetings that do not mention the holiday. The electronic greeting designs are exclusive online, Mishek said.
Sending an electronic greeting is a simple as going to the Hallmark.com Web site and clicking on the icon for electronic greetings, Mishek said. The person can scroll down to see all of the cards and make a selection. The sender can also add a personal message to the card.
Once the the person has selected a card, he has to provide the e-mail address of the sender and the receiver. The sender will receive a confirmation e-mail when the greeting is received.
Those who have been struck by Cupid’s arrow also have the option of making valentines for their loved ones. Both Campus Craft and Floral and Provo Craft have paper supplies and materials to cut, paste and make valentines.
Nancy Kensinger, customer service representative at Provo Craft, said the store carries scrapbooking paper, dye cuts, silk flowers, Valentine’s Day trinkets and heart-shaped cookie cutters to aid in people’s Valentine’s Day projects.
Alisha Jensen, a customer service representative at Campus Craft and Floral, said the store has a heart-shaped pan for people to make a cookie card.
