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The Roaring Twenties might soon be upon us again, but for CEO and Founder William Scott Forshaw 2019 was just as much of a celebration…
I think our biggest move as a brand this year was the launch of our AW19 #MyBagMyCity women’s handbag collection. It has been so many years in the making and I am incredibly proud that Maxwell-Scott has transitioned to the point at which we can create seasonal collections. Of course, the ethos of Maxwell-Scott remains slow sustainable consumerism of the utmost quality with our 25 year warranty. As such, there is an undeniable timeless appeal to these women’s handbags and ladies briefcases but for this season we have introduced two new leather options. The first of which is a soft suede in tan, wine and black which adds a relaxed touch to our more casual bags including the Nola crossbody and the Varallo shopper tote. The other leather option is ideal for the refined modern professional as a smart pebbled textured leather that is available in three classic tones: french navy, taupe and black. Designed for the modern woman, these handbags are handcrafted in the heart of Italy to last many more seasons to come.
In order to launch this collection within the international setting, we hosted two blogger events – one in Berlin during Fashion Week and one at The Grand, York. This has to be one of my proudest moments of the year as it truly felt as if these events established us within a new arena, engaging a new and exciting audience for us. I thoroughly enjoyed discussing the brand and new collection with everyone and the events epitomised the central idea to the collection that, in whichever city you live, there is a handbag to adapt to your daily life be that as a relaxed creative or high-flying financier.
Our official suppliership has also continued into its third year with European Champions Saracens. This year I have been particularly proud of The Rugby Roundtable video series that we did with Alex Lozowski, Alex Lewington and Henry Taylor. Here the players discuss mentality and victory, self development and what constitutes a successful career which I found deeply enlightening. For me, these videos cast a new light on life as a professional rugby player at the top of their game and I am immensely proud that we have been able to create such engaging and thoughtful content with our Saracens partners.
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Another exciting development for the brand this year was signing two brand ambassadors – one for Switzerland and the other for Austria. As these are markets that we are hoping will enjoy vast growth in the coming year, attracting influencers to act as brand ambassadors was a really significant step forward.
For Switzerland, meet Nicole who regularly reports on lifestyle, fashion, and travel in her magazine Home & Art. Here she curates her favourite products with everything from business to leisure. Similarly for Austria Jenny from JennyLovesLove features fashion, beauty, health and lifestyle posts on her blog and highly-curated instagram feed. This has been such an interesting new step for us this year and I’m looking forward to seeing how these relationships and similar develop over the next year.
On World Mental Health Day, we hosted a coffee morning at our headquarters to raise money for York Mind. A local charity, the organisation aims to support individuals with their recovery after experiencing mental ill-health. I was absolutely delighted with the result as our cake sale, as well as contributing 10% of the day’s sales, raised £718.65. This is the same as 27 hours of one-to-one counselling or 5 weeks of their Peer Support network. I am so incredibly proud that the money we raised will go towards helping the local community in this way and look forward to working with our Mental Health Advocate Holly in 2020 to further increase the help and understanding we can offer those dealing with mental ill-health. Discover More Here >
This year we were immensely proud to have been nominated for three awards.
The first was the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards which acknowledges the hard work and inspiring stories of entrepreneurs and businesses in the United Kingdom. I was very fortunate to be nominated as Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year for the North West region among other entrepreneurs that I really admire.
Nevertheless I couldn’t have grown the business to the brand that it is now without my very talented team, which was recognised by both Drapers and The York Press Business Awards. Our Drapers Award nomination for Accessories Brand of the Year was very exciting as it was the second year in a row that we have been nominated for this prestigious category. Drapers always means so much to us as a brand as it is a titan within the fashion industry.
However, my proudest moment of the 2019 award season was winning Exporter of the Year at The York Press Business Awards. This is for two reasons. Firstly, over the past seven years, it has been really important that Maxwell-Scott is rooted in my home county of Yorkshire. The talent here is undeniable and moving back to York from London was certainly the best professional and personal decision that I’ve made. Secondly, in the political landscape, it was an honour to be commended on our international success. As an export advocate I will always believe in expanding business through international trade. It is at the core of the now award-winning Maxwell-Scott.
Lastly, in order to properly celebrate our Yorkshire roots, the aim of our campaign shoots this year was to highlight the beauty of our surroundings as well as our luxury Italian leather products. In September, our A Matter Of Business campaign featured The Principal Hotel, our brand partners and the only 5* hotel in the city The Grand, York and other landmarks around the city. My favourite images though capture a misty morning on the edge of the River Ouse which have an eery beauty to them.
Similarly, for Christmas, we have captured the magic of the De Grey Rooms with our A Roaring Good Christmas With Maxwell-Scott campaign. As a beautiful, neo-classical Grade II listed building that has been a meeting place for social events, dances, weddings and parties in York since 1841, it seemed the perfect place to re-imagine the Roaring Twenties as we enter its second chapter. It even features a sprung dance floor to capture the importance of music and dance during the period. It was such a special day being surrounded by this local history. In fact, it was simply unforgettable.
