What makes you pick up a Valentine’s Day card? Are you drawn in by the glittery displays on the cover? Or perhaps it’s the heartfelt message inside that helps you make your final choice? These are the questions the staff members at Marian Heath Greeting Cards, located in the Wareham Industrial Park, ask themselves every day.

There are an estimated 250 million Valentine’s Day cards sold each year. And, according to the staff at Marian Heath, it’s the intangible elements of each greeting that will make a Marian Heath card the one for you.

The company’s international headquarters is located at 9 Kendrick Road. Creative Director Molly DelMastro and her staff spend months there sifting through hundreds of designs submitted by freelance artists from across the globe. Like the artwork, the verses are both written in-house and outsourced to independent writers.

“It is something very unique to Marian Heath,” explained Marian Heath president Kim Lehrman. “We take raw art and verse and transform it into a finished product.”

The staff at Marian Heath passionately describe their work as “the art form of caring,” noting that they typically chose the artwork before the verses. “It’s the art that gets people to pick it up,” Lehrman continued.

Offering a wide range of cards, from classic romantic to humorous choices, is another staple of the Marian Heath brand. Each year’s new line has something to suit everyone. “Narrowing down the finalists is based on balance,” said Lehrman.

The creative department considers existing cards when designing new ones by weighing in on sales trends. “There has been a push toward traditional cards in the last 24 months,” noted Lehrman.

The staffers number one tip for choosing the right card? “It has to have an emotional attachment,” DelMastro advised.

Marian Heath Greeting Cards is celebrating its 70th year in business. Founded during World War II as a way to send support to troops, the garage start-up quickly grew into one of the leading card makers in the world.