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Show "f'f 1 111 11 "? 1,1 "if yyr Page Ten - The Springville Herald - February I -' . ' some forgotten airul,ear ( , V . VALt W X ' (V'' - ' - I3rings bachpast scenes to thee, llpllf - W ' ' KM):;- ' ' claims 2our V'- V : ' . . sjf j i,;-; . r-TT-, ,f XiD .'; V ' listening ear,- "WSHBpiS ffi ' ; -; ' JU ' J KP one Kinb thought for me. W Jm -SS ff Valentin erfss i reflection of .tbe'fiiiies "Tomorrow is Saint Valentine's Day All in the morning betime And I a maid at your window, To be your Valentine." -Hamlet. By the time Will Shakespear penned these Valentine lines for the fair Ophelia in 1601, the custom of exchanging messages of love and affection had been established for several hundred years in Western Civilization- and it's a tradition which remains more alive than ever, according to Joy Sweeney, vice president of the creative division for Cleveland-based American Greetings Corp. One measure of the popularity of February 14th's love-in can be found in greeting card purchases, pur-chases, and Sweeney says her company is forecasting a large sales increase for 1982 in its America rd, Forget-me-not and Laurel card lines, making Valentine's Day the year's second-largest card-buying holiday, after Christmas. Even the U.S. Postal Service is honoring this special day with a stamp bearing the word "Love" spelled in flowers, along with a poster encouraging 11, 1982 its use. The postal Service is anticipating the estimated 800 million Valentine's Day messages that will be exchanged this year. "While the basic idea behind the Valentine greeting remains the same, the form it takes is .subject to shifting taste trends in our society," Sweeney said. "Just as people look to new clothing fashions as a means of self expression, so do they look for the perfect combination of design and versing in a card to say exactly how they feel. And greeting card design runs surprisingly sur-prisingly parallel to other major trend changes, not only in fashion, but in humor, art, language and even in the way we see ourselves as a people." To encompass preferences ranging from delicate, lacy hearts and flowers to the most contemporary stylized lovebirds, American Greetings offers nearly 2,300 designs to keep pace with the most current trends. And what are these trends? Sweeney notes that nostalgia and good, old-fashioned sentiment are extremely popular, perhaps reflecting the more conservative mood of the country. Approximately one half of the company's traditional offerings-which offerings-which remain the favorites with shoppers-will shoppers-will feature flowers, especially roses, in either painted or photographic renderings. Also expected to be popular are feminine lace, gingham and petitie ' floral patterns. pat-terns. "Red, - of course, remains the most popular color, followed by pink, white and ivory," Sweeney said. "With the growing sophistication of shoppers, however, the reds and pinks are romantic and vibrant, to match current fashion trends." ' American Greetings also expects cards featuring their Strawberry Shortcake, Holly Ilobbie land Ziggy characters to sell very well. "Both Strawberry Shortcake and Holly Hobbie represent a wholesomeness and innocence in-nocence in changing times, while Ziggy's lovable fumbling in coping with modern life enjoys universal identification," iden-tification," Sweeney noted. She adds that those characters, especially the Holly Ilobbie Rag Doll design, are equally popular among children. Cats and bears are also favored by youngsters. The company's designers anticipated the increasing public interest in Americana, from Early American primitive art to nineteenth-century quilts. Numerous Valentine offerings incorporate these design motifs. A twist on this concept features antique teddy bears in human situations. Although tradition predominates this Valentine's Day, Sweeney emphasizes that American Greetings offers an extensive card selection to keep pace with contemporary lifestyles. As examples, she cites the Soft Touch line for young adults, featuring realistic photographic art and short, conversational messages that address the subject of love or friendship in a modern, forthright manner. The company also anticipated this year's metallic look in fashion. The result is Valentine cards with special coatings that enhance reflective printed colors and complement a wide use of gold and other metallic finishes. v According to Sweeney, people today seem to enjoy spoofs and whimsy. She cites one see-through card which provides a glimpse of tantalizing lips on the inside, ae companied by the message, "How about a big smooch for Valeria tine's Day?" Upotf opening the card, the; provocative lips an come-on are those of ft chimpanzee. Sweeney stresses that even though Valentinf trends may vary fronj year to year,. th romantic associations with the holiday havj remained intact through the centuries. "Valeni tine's Day continues t& grow in popularity because romance and love never go out of style." |