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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…
One of my proudest moments of 2019 was the launch of our FW19 #MyBagMyCity women’s purse collection. To transition to this point required years of work so I am immensely pleased that we have been able to create a seasonal collection. Of course, the ethos of Maxwell-Scott which champions the finest quality craftsmanship with our 25 year warranty still rings true. Therefore each purse within the collection has a timeless appeal. We did, however, introduce two new leather options. The first is a quality suede in tan, wine and black which adds a modern, relaxed touch to our more casual purses including the Nola Medium crossbody shoulder bag and the Varallo suede shopper tote. The second is a smart pebbled leather which is ideal for the refined businesswoman especially with the Enrica ladies briefcase tote – available in taupe and french navy. The FW19 #MyBagMyCity collection then is handcrafted in the heart of Italy to last many more seasons to come.
In order to launch the collection we hosted two blogger events – one in Berlin during Berlin Fashion Week and one with our brand partners The Grand, York. This was particularly important because it was really symbolic of the central ideal of the campaign that, in whichever city you live, there is a purse to adapt to your daily life be that as a relaxed creative or high-flying financier. I thoroughly enjoyed talking about the brand and discussing the new collection with this exciting new audience. It really felt that we had to entered into a new arena as a brand and these two events were the perfect way to launch the campaign.
2019 marked the third year of our official suppliership with European Champions Saracens Rugby Club. This is a very special partnership for us at Maxwell-Scott, as was our NFL partnership with Xavier Woods this year for the 100th season. I particularly enjoyed The Rugby Roundtable video series though that we did with with Alex Lozowski, Alex Lewington and Henry Taylor that focuses on mentality and success, their proudest moments and self development. These videos really did cast a new light on life as a professional rugby player at the top of their game for me, 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 significant step for us as a brand this year was the appointment of our two new brand ambassadors for Switzerland and Austria. For Switzerland, Nicole is our brand ambassador. A lifestyle consultant, content creator, model and Managing Director, she regularly reports on lifestyle, fashion, and travel in her magazine Home & Art. Here she curates her favorite 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. I am very excited about developing these relationships and similar in the coming year. Plus, as these are two markets that I hope will experience vast growth in the next few months, I am so pleased that Nicole and Jenny have taken this first significant step with us.
This year I appointed Holly as our Mental Health Advocate which was really important to me because my aim has always been to create a supportive and happy workplace environment. So, in May we signed up to the Mindful Employer charter, a voluntary scheme that encourages employers to better support staff experiencing a range of mental health conditions. Then in October, for World Mental Health Day, we hosted a charity community 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 am extremely pleased to report that we managed to raise £718.65 through our cake sale and donating 10% of the day’s sales. This is equal to 27 hours of one-to-one counselling or 5 weeks of their Peer Support network. After supporting the local community in this way, I am very much looking forward to working with Holly in 2020 on further increasing the help and understanding that we can offer my colleagues and those in our community alike dealing with mental ill-health.
2019 for us at Maxwell-Scott has also been defined by award season and we are 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 UK. I was nominated as Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year for the North West region which was so fortunate as it truly recognized all of the hard work and perseverance that it requires to build a business.
Nevertheless, I could not have grown Maxwell-Scott to the brand that it is today without my very talented team, which was recognized by both Drapers and The York Press Business Awards. Drapers is a titan within the fashion industry so it was an honor to have been nominated as Accessories Brand of the Year for the second time in a row.
However, perhaps the proudest moment for me of 2019 was our win at The York Press Business Awards. We won their Exporter of the Year award which is so important to me for two reasons. Firstly, it has been crucial to me that we root ourselves as a business in my home county of Yorkshire. Moving to York from London was certainly the best decision that I have made personally and professionally as the talent here is simply undeniable. Moreover, in the British political climate at the moment I am so pleased that York Press has commended us for our international perspective. As an export advocate, I will continually champion the benefits of exporting for expanding your business. It will always be at the core of the now award-winning Maxwell-Scott.
Lastly, I feel as though through our 2019 campaigns we have been able to highlight the beauty of our Yorkshire surroundings to an international audience. In September, for example, our A Matter Of Business campaign was shot around York and features The Principal Hotel, our brand partners and the only 5* hotel in the city The Grand, York and other landmarks in the city. In particular my favorite images capture a misty morning on the edge of the River Ouse which truly reflect the magic of the city.
In order to recapture the razzle and dazzle of the 1920s for our A Roaring Good Christmas With Maxwell-Scott campaign, York also seemed to be the ideal place. For this location we chose the De Grey Rooms which is 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 even features a sprung dance floor to capture the importance of music and dance during the period. Days surrounded by this kind of local history are unforgettable.
