A Mother’s Guiding Hands | An Interview With William Forshaw And His Mother, Jacqueline

Jacqueline entered our offices last week looking suitably elegant as always in an ensemble of French navy and pearls. As expected, she greeted everyone with true warmth and settled down to explain how she and William, CEO and founder of Maxwell-Scott but more importantly her son, started the company and worked together in its early years. In fact, it was Jacqueline who deserves the credit for the Maxwell-Scott brand name, blending her two boys’ middle names.

It was also Jacqueline who first explored the traditional leather industry, supplying small boutiques back in the UK with pieces that she sourced in Italy. It was this entrepreneurial spirit which sparked William’s involvement and the establishment of Maxwell-Scott as the brand it is today. Jacqueline had however always seen that entrepreneurial trait in her son. William, she confesses, had always been terribly independent and therefore she knew that one day he would own a business. Nevertheless, she did have other hopes for him as a child – embarrassing William by recounting a few tales from his brief career as a child actor. As Jacqueline called to mind times they had on set together – William can still be found in a TV film that also starred Courtney Cox – it was eminently clear why these two have always worked well together. There is a playfulness and mutual respect which is evident as they interact. Simply by watching them together during the photo shoot for this interview there was an apparent symbiotic rapport. 

It was William’s idea to join his mother in the leather bag business which Jacqueline admits was the perfect vehicle for him. The two of them quite happily begin to recall their time together, piecing together memories and the subsequent timelines of the busiest time in their lives. This drive, William claims, is how Jacqueline has most greatly inspired him over the years. She gave him the architecture of the brand and the determination to grow the business. In the early days they spent hours driving between clients – with their cars’ only being towed a couple of times. William in particular remembers travelling around London with a car full of product in order to sell face-to-face with their corporate clients. They both start laughing at the memory of one lunch in Clapham when Jacqueline had described her lovely new car (full of product at the time) as funnily enough exactly the same as the one on the tow truck that was passing them. With this, her pride in William for the international ecommerce site that he now runs is obvious.

Small stories like these highlight the depth of the relationship between the pair. In the early days they spent hours talking on the phone, day after day, brainstorming new ways to grow the business. From the very beginning, however, the philosophy of the brand has been the same – to create timeless pieces that will be treasured but, importantly, used day after day. Jacqueline beamed as she recounted how William had recognised the value in this ethos and never followed a tangent. Instead, he continues as a family business to honour Italian craftsmanship and the finest leather that develops a unique patina over time. Though Jacqueline is no longer part of daily life at Maxwell-Scott, William still uses her as a sounding board to discuss new ventures in the ecommerce field. The communication between this mother-son duo is in fact heart-warming. Jacqueline identifies that it was William who had the courage to take the Maxwell-Scott brand to a higher level but the foundation that she provides for his success is undeniable.

According to Jacqueline though, William’s biggest achievement with Maxwell-Scott is the move that he made from London to York. As she admires the office space she reminds William never to forget where they had come from – namely, the battle in London. The persistent hard work that this environment required is in complete opposition to the small happy team that William and his wife Charlotte have created in this historic town. With this Jacqueline points out how integral Charlotte and her own husband Peter have been in the journey of Maxwell-Scott as well. It seems to be in her personality to bolster those around her. At one point, she invites Peter to join the conversation noting his role over the past two decades as equally important. Thus, it is rather unsurprising that she is such a support to William now as always – after all he is her boy.

At one point William and Jacqueline explain the importance of building relationships. The pair acknowledge that this is how they have got to where they are today. Truly though, it is their relationship which is the basis of Maxwell-Scott. Now when Jacqueline visits the office she is always in the warehouse, among the product that she has been such a vital part in creating. Together they have built an international brand which remains true to the values that Jacqueline originally outlined. Its value quite clearly rooted in their philosophy.

Jacqueline’s Mother’s Day Pick: The Medolla Saddlebag Handbag