By Mark Boyle
For The Diamondback
Ali von Paris started a business out of her University of Maryland dorm. A few years later, her work caught the attention of Gov. Larry Hogan.
Hogan appointed the 26-year-old alumna to the Maryland Tourism Coalition last week. Von Paris is the founder and CEO of Route One Apparel, which sells Maryland-themed clothing and accessories.
The tourism board promotes services and products unique to Maryland in an effort to bring tourism to the state.
“It’s cool to have a voice on a larger scale,” von Paris said.
As the owner of a mostly-internet based retailer, von Paris said she thinks Hogan’s decision was influenced by her online presence.
In an age when “everything can go viral in a heartbeat,” she said, a young person familiar with the changing marketplace can offer different perspectives on branding Maryland tourism.
State pride is apparent throughout the Route One Apparel inventory: There are Maryland-flag scarves, Ravens & Bohs & Crabs & O’s T-shirts and sneakers decorated with Testudo. Von Paris hopes the company, named after the student “rendezvous” stretch in front of the university’s main entrance, grows to be “the go-to place for state pride.”
Von Paris created the company’s first item as a junior. It was a Turtle Survivor jersey — an ode to her former employer, the Thirsty Turtle, which lost its liquor license in 2010 after serving underage students.
As demand grew, von Paris built a website so customers could browse through her inventory. She began selling screen-printed T-shirts out of her dorm. After graduating in 2012, von Paris’ collection of custom products filled her parents’ house, she said.
Route One Apparel merchandise can now be bought in several wholesale retailers, including BookHolders, the first brick-and-mortar business to accept von Paris’ products.
As a student, von Paris said staff in the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center gave her access to rooms to hold business meetings. The center orders Route One Apparel items, such as scarves and umbrellas.
“We love to continue to support [students] post-graduation as they go on to their future endeavors,” said Angela Dimopoulos, Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center director of sales and marketing. “It’s exciting to see all that she’s been able to do.” This past May, the university’s Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship named von Paris Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year.
“She’s shown the student body what you can do if you keep pursuing that idea,” said Holly DeArmond, associate director of the entrepreneurship center. “She’s a Terp through and through.”
As a coalition member, von Paris hopes to bring more positivity to Maryland.
“When you start planning and thinking about what you want to do in five years, you’re closing your mind off to what’s in front of you,” von Paris said. “Be receptive to opportunities.”
