Last year, Schumacher celebrated its 125th anniversary by hosting parties across the country, introducing a special anniversary collection and making major staff changes within the brand. While eager to celebrate its 125-year history, the brand is simultaneously looking for new ways to assist clients in 2015. The latest change: a completely retooled and redesigned website, launching next week.

The new FSchumacher.com aims to be more dynamic and inspiring for users, introducing a blog headed up by former shelter publication editors and rebooted e-commerce.

New website homepage

“We’re thrilled to unveil a new website that will not only simplify the buying process, but will also be a platform where our collections can inspire,” former company CEO Terri Eagle said.

Design professionals can check inventory, reserve stock, approve CFAs, place and track orders, and reference order history—all in real time. In addition, the site’s design is now responsive on mobile, making all the new features more readily available on smart phones.

The new blog will include interviews with designers, a look at the current obsessions of the design team, and highlights of iconic moments in the brand’s history.

Dara's favorites to be shared on the blog

“Schumacher has had an incomparable legacy, and our new website sets the bar yet again,” said Creative Director Dara Caponigro. “With content created by a staff of well-seasoned magazine editors, the website will have an editorial look with a blog full of exciting design-related features.”

To learn more, Editor at Large chatted with Caponigro and CEO Stephen Puschel (who is interim CEO following Eagle’s departure).

What will be the main differences between the new site and the old?

SP: On the commerce side, we’ve added functionality that we think our customers love: inventory visibility on each product page, stored addresses, the option to have sub-users on an account, order history and the ability to convert, extend or cancel reserves. On the content side, our homepage and blog are editorial and engaging. We hope that our customers will enjoy our market insights and guest postings as much as the shopping and browsing capability.

Why is it so important for an established company to invest in an online presence?

SP: Our commitment to design, quality and service will never change, but the ways in which our customers shop and the ways in which we provide service are constantly evolving. In order to preserve our core values we have to constantly innovate our service to maintain high-levels of customer experience, whether it be in a showroom or online. Designers are and will be browsing, speccing and shopping digitally more and more—and this digital investment is an acknowledgement of the changing market habits.

Schumacher staffers and blog contributors

How will blog contributors change the game?

DC: The contributors of the blog have worked at six major publications between them: domino, Veranda, In Style, Wall Street Journal, Elle Decor and House Beautiful. While they each have different points of view, they all come to the table with an appreciation of design and style. We'll cover a myriad of topics that excite us personally and we'll package them with a journalistic eye.

What type of content will the new blog have?

DC: The blog will focus on style, design, culture and entertaining and will include everything from an eye-catching flower arrangement to a worthwhile museum exhibition to a history lesson on a style icon. Of course, there will be Schumacher-related content, too—with 125 years to draw on, there are some amazing things to include.