MAXINE GORDON visits the York business with bags of style.

LOVERS of leather bags will know their Mulberry from their Michael Kors, but a brand closer to home is challenging the luxury market.

Maxwell Scott, the brainchild of Harrogate-born WIlliam Forshaw, was launched ten years ago, initially selling quality leather briefcases to businessmen in London.

Today it sells a range of products for the style-conscious professional, from briefcases and saddle bags to luggage, iPad cases, purses and wallets.

The goods are designed by William from the company's HQ in Dunnington, just outside York, and manufactured using the finest leather at factories in Italy.

All the goods are dispatched from the warehouse in Dunnington. As the door opens, the smell of leather is intoxicating and I breath in deeply, trying to absorb every last molecule of the manly scent.

William says he's so used to it, he barely notices. "All I can smell is the coffee," says William, who immediately pours us two mugs from the coffee-making machine on the workbench.

William, 38, is probably in need of a pick-me-up; wife Charlotte has just given birth to a son, Jax, a brother for Liliana, aged three-and-a-half.

Soon, however, he begins talking about his first "baby", Paolo, the classic leather briefcase that rocketed the Maxwell Scott brand into orbit a decade ago. "It's the classic flap over, three-section briefcase," says William. "It was our first design and it's still our best-seller."

Lately, William has been concentrating on expanding the brand, particularly with a view to targetting a female market. The Calvino is a new briefcase, in a softer, curved shape, designed to be unisex. Inside is a padded sleeve, perfect for protecting your laptop, says William. Next he shows me a beautiful chocolate brown envelope clutch in leather, called the Ettore. A secret magnet catch opens to reveal a soft interior – all that's needed is the latest piece of kit from Apple.

"We want to bring out some new products geared towards technology," says William. "These will be padded inside and specially designed for laptops, which is part and parcel of commuting these days - people now travel with their technology."

Just out this week is the Fiorella, a smart shoulder bag with long handles that is a briefcase designed to hold a MacBook safely inside.

The Medolla, a traditional saddle bag, is one of several classic-style handbags sold by the company. William says: "I am not going to produce the next 'It' bag – and I am never going to try. I want to be known for producing high-quality products and don't really want to compete with the top fashion brands."

All the products are available in three shades of leather: chestnut, chocolate brown or black. William plans to introduce some textured "mock-croc" leather soon and may experiment with additional colours to widen the appeal to women. "We won't be using pink or white, but perhaps a deep, dark red or Marsala, the colour of the year, that would work well."

The leather used in Maxwell Scott bags is produced from a tannery in Tuscany. It comes from premium quality, full-grain hides that are tanned using natural processes, reducing the impact on the environment and giving the leather unique qualities. Marks and scratches can be buffed out, says William, adding that the leather develops a beautiful patina over time. To prove his point he shows me his own briefcase, which is eight years old and looking suitably worn, but still perfectly functional.

All products come with a 25-year warranty against manufacturing fault and a no-quibbles 30-day returns policy. Given that Maxwell Scott is solely an online business, such guarantees are designed to give customers confidence to buy "unseen".

The business model is a runaway success and the company now runs four websites: in the UK, US, Germany and France, and hopes to expand to ten in the next decade.

"I'm not aiming for the stars," says WIlliam. "If we can triple our turnover I would be over the moon."

Find out more at Maxwellscottbags.com