Considering that Virginia is now officially in Phase 3 of Re-Opening, our clients may be wondering if we will consider returning to walk-in hours anytime soon. While many other retailers have decided to do this, we have opted against it for a few reasons...  1) Appointments just make sense for our workHonestly, we have wanted to transition to being By Appointment Only for a few years but, until the pandemic, didn't have the opportunity to make the switch in an easy way. The last few months have given us a chance to test the model, and we're finding it's working great. For the work we do, we need to have time and bandwidth to sit down with our clients and discuss options. No one likes to feel rushed and working on an appointment basis ensures you can meet with us, uninterrupted, for whatever time you need and that we can answer all your questions thoroughly. 2) It allows us to keep things sanitized and healthy for everyoneOur business is "high touch-point" by nature and we need to ensure that after each client, our pieces and meeting spaces are fully cleaned in preparation for the next. This takes time and a diligent eye, so we need to know exactly who is where (and doing what) at all times. We use both UV sanitation wands and traditional cleaning solutions to sanitize surfaces, jewelry, and other touch-points throughout the day and after each and every meeting. Appointments also allow us to check that every single person who walks in our door is wearing a mask - a requirement by law and by our own policies. 3) We're facing the same childcare conundrum you are!As many of you know, Tim and I have a small son and, like other parents out there, we're in the difficult boat of always needing one parent at home due to lack of camps and school. This is an enormous problem facing parents and businesses all over and I'm still not exactly sure how it will be sorted out over the months to come. With the prospect of unreliable childcare and school schedules looming ahead, we have to make everything else in our lives as predictable as possible. Appointments allow us to do that.  The good news is, it's extremely easy to make an appointment with us: simply shoot us an email at inquiries@alxandcompany.com and we can get you set up. We're happy to set up private browsing appointments as well, if you're curious to see our showroom. We'll see you at our shop soon!