Sophomore brings 'Hope' to others through designer fashion line

When the CEO of a licensing and manufacturing company asked University of Georgia sophomore Ali Spizman for her opinion of singer Mariah Carey's latest line, she never suspected it would lead to her own handbag line.\nIn 2002, Spizman went to New York with her mother, Robyn, who had a segment on "The Today Show." Her mother met with Seth Goldberg, who was presenting Carey's new accessory line on the show. Since he was looking for a teenager's opinion, Goldberg asked the younger Spizman what she thought of the line.\n"I told him he should have a handbag," Spizman said. "He was taken aback but told me, 'Go home, mock it up and send it to me.'"\nSo Spizman did. She made a design, without any training in fashion, and drew up a business proposal.\n"I wrote what I thought; it was definitely a 15-year-old's attempt," she said.\nWhen the handbag line was launched in May 2005, both Goldberg and Carey attended.\n"It wasn't hard to communicate with Seth (Goldberg), and I didn't try to act older than I was," Spizman said. "I was this 15-year-old teenager from Atlanta, playing volleyball, and I just happen to have this handbag line."\nSpizman's product, the Handbag of Hope, is named for Hope Stout, a participant in the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Western North Carolina who suffered from a rare form of bone cancer. When it was Stout's turn to get her wish, she asked that 155 other children from the Charlotte, N.C., area receive their wishes before her. The Make-A-Wish Foundation discovered $1 million needed to be raised to make Stout's wish come true. When people heard about Stout's story, there was a huge response, and donors met the goal within four weeks. Stout's generosity inspired Spizman to dedicate the accessory to her.\nStout died in 2004, but her line has raised more than $300,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation to date.\nThe Handbag of Hope line is sold at Claire's stores across the country. Spizman said she approves separate lines of three to five bags for both Claire's, which is geared toward younger teenagers, and its sister store, Icing, which is targeted toward older teenagers and college students. \nThe Claire's store also sells Hope cell-phone covers and ink pens. Claire's designs the line, but Spizman approves every Hope product.\n"My focus is school," she said. "There's not a lot of pressure from the handbag line."\nSpizman came to IU to major in telecommunications but recently transferred to the University of Georgia to be closer to her family and home. She is now majoring in consumer journalism -- a combination of consumer economics and journalism.\n"I came to IU because I loved the telecommunications department and I wanted to try something different," Spizman said.\nAt IU she was a part of Delta Delta Delta sorority and participated in community service for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and IU Dance Marathon.\nAs a senior in high school, Spizman interned at the Make-A-Wish Foundation and won a leadership award from the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, for which she received $5,000 to donate to a charity. With this money, Spizman was able to grant one of her peer's wishes.\n"A 17-year-old girl who had cancer in her eye wanted to go on a shopping spree," Spizman said.\nSpizman spent the day shopping with her, and the recipient even arrived at the mall in a limo.\nSpizman said anyone can volunteer for the Make-A-Wish Foundation -- an activity she recommends.\n"When you see a 3-year-old with leukemia -- that's all that matters," she said. "It really makes you appreciate things, especially your health"