Something Old, Something New…Welcome Alexandria & Company
It’s always fun when we have a new member join the Stylebook family, and it’s especially cool when the new member is both an Alexandria institution and a brand-new brand. Wait, what? We talk to Meaghan Foran, owner of Alexandria & Company, to learn more…
What is Alexandria & Company?
In a sentence, we are a workshop based out of Old Town specializing in repairing, restoring, and creating fine jewelry and silver hollowware. In truth, though, we are so much more than that. We have been the “in the know” craftsmen for the D.C. area for decades and our clients have come to trust us with bringing new life to their most precious family pieces. Our custom design side of our business is full-service, so we walk our clients through buying stones (if needed), we meet with clients – sometimes many times – to design a piece that is just right, and we fully execute the creation of the item, meaning that we cast it, set it with stones, and hand-finish with engraving or at the wheel for the perfect luster. This can be a deeply personal and sentimental experience for our clients and we have built a space that reflects our welcoming and comfortable vibe.
When did Alx&Co. open?
Our workshop has been here since 1968, but our name has changed a few times. Some of our longest-running clients still refer to us by our original moniker, “Rubesch’s,” but we recently shifted from Lawrence Miller & Company, a name we held for almost twenty years, to Alexandria & Company. We made that change official as of January 1, 2018, so this is an exciting time for us!
So why the name change? Any other changes in store for this year?
2018 is a really big year for us for many reasons. We decided to change our name because Lawrence, our talented silversmith, was ready to take a step back from the “public” side of our store and wanted to focus more on his craft. He is still our exclusive silversmith who will be working on our most complex silver restorations, but people may not see him as often as he will have slightly different hours. Because of this, we decided it was time to shift our name away from him so that people wouldn’t be confused by with whom they need to speak. The truth is, this is something we have been thinking of doing for nearly ten years as our business model has grown into many more services than what Lawrence himself offers.
We are also in the middle of managing a significant renovation of our historic building and we are so, so excited about what’s in store for this (seriously, the last day of our renovation cannot come soon enough…). We’re changing our layout slightly to provide more privacy to custom design consultations and we are going to have a much more beautiful space for our clients to enjoy. It’s going to be amazing.
What is your favorite item in the store now? Why?
I absolutely love the &Co. line that we created last year and I am so excited to see where we grow it next. My husband (and co-owner) Tim and I designed some wearable, simple, but beautiful pieces of jewelry and have made them available for customization and purchase through our website. We tried to keep the price points for these pieces more approachable than what many of our clients might think of for custom jewelry, but the materials are always fine gold or sterling silver and everything is handmade in our Old Town workshop.
We will have these available to try on in our store as well, which I think will be fun for our clients. The &Co. line has proved to be a great entry point to what we can create and we have had many clients design their own pieces based off of inspiration from the line. It’s so cool to see how these simple shapes can morph into new life.
What did you do before Alx&Co.? How is this a better fit for you?
Before joining the team full-time I worked in the legal industry in D.C. I was a paralegal, so I did a lot of research and litigation work, and later I went into a sales role with a big corporate firm. While I loved the intellectual challenge that the work brought, it wasn’t very satisfying and I always envisioned myself working in something where I had more ownership and creativity than what those roles offered.
After having my son (he’s now seventeen months old) and trying to juggle working in D.C. with raising a family in Old Town, we decided it made more sense for me to fully engage with our shop and take on the roles we always wanted me to have. Doing this gave me the flexibility to be home with our son while also going full-force into the projects that Tim and I had always talked about doing but never had the time to take on. So, that’s how we found ourselves in the middle of a name change, a major renovation, and our &Co. line launch all basically at the same time! This role has proven to be everything I wanted out of my career. I get to be creative, I get to think strategically, I have total ownership and responsibility over my day, and I get to introduce amazing talent to a wider audience. Hard to beat.
Other than the shop, what are your hobbies?
Ha, good question. When you co-own a business with your husband it can be a challenge to step away, so a lot of our “down” time is spent brainstorming new ideas for our shop. That said, we love going for hikes on the many trails of the Shenandoah region and we escape to the country as often as possible. I live in a small apartment in Old Town with Tim, our toddler, and our ten-year-old yellow Lab Bu, so a lot of my time is otherwise spent coming up with ways to get the most out of our relatively tiny space. We love the challenge that our small home brings but really love that we live six blocks from our shop and get to walk everywhere in Old Town (another hobby). Tim and I are also avid travelers and try to take on a challenging trip at least once a year. Next up: Japan with a toddler!
