This Valentine’s Day, say it with bitterness

Cowlin said the majority of the anti-Valentine’s Day items on the site fall into two categories: they are either anti-love or just against the consumerism associated with the day. (Never mind that people are taking part by buying something anyway.)

The messages, available on T-shirts, greeting cards and other products, range from the witty — “Valentine’s Day: Depressing geeks since 496 A.D.” — to the more blunt — “I don’t love you.” Some CafePress messages more benignly promote the single life, with messages like “Happy ‘Single Awareness’ Day.”

For those who really want to shun consumerism this Valentine’s Day, there are plenty of free anti-Valentine’s Day cards available online from artists, cynics and others who just don’t like the holiday. Artist Dylan Edwards began designing anti-Valentine’s Day cards for his friends a few years back, when he was feeling a little bitter about spending Valentine’s Day alone.

Later, he posted some on his Web site, and soon he noticed that traffic to the site was spiking considerably in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day. Now, he tries to add a couple new cards each year, and says the free offerings are a good way to get his name and contact information out to potential paying clients.

One of his cards features pink hearts and an elephant-like creature against a purple background, along with the message: “Nobody will ever love you, so you might as well give up now. Happy Valentine’s Day!”

Edwards is still single, but he said that these days he’s less bitter about it.

“I’m pretty content with ... the way my life is,” he said. “That’s actually helped the cards branch out a little bit from just raw anger.”

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