Maxwell & Williams

The name was written on a butcher's paper tablecloth in Florence in 1996, over a few bottles of chianti, by a man trying to think of what to call a homewares brand. Max Grundmann wrote his own first name beside that of his business partner, the late Bill Ryan. That piece of paper is framed in the company's offices.

The foundations were laid a generation earlier. Harry and Anna Grundmann arrived in Australia from post-war Europe and started a homewares business out of the garage of their Brighton East home in 1963. Max is their son. The business is now in its third generation, with Daniel Grundmann leading sales and product and Michael Grundmann heading strategy and operations.

The first real breakthrough was not a plate but a sticker. Maxwell & Williams put a label on the front of their white plates instead of the back, so the brand was visible on a shelf crowded with anonymous white china. The range it launched was White Basics.

In 2025 the family added Love Anna x, named for Anna Grundmann. Her name is on the packaging.