Timur Yumusaklar, President & CEO of Schumacher, on Endowing NYSID’s Newest Diversity Scholarship     

F. Schumacher & Co., which encompasses two iconic design industry brands, Schumacher and Patterson Flynn, has just endowed a new diversity scholarship called the Schumacher Scholarship for Equity and Inclusion at NYSID. The scholarship will be awarded each year to a student from a population historically underrepresented in the field of design, and who shows exceptional promise for making great contributions to the interior design industry. The award is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Recipients will also receive a mentorship with Schumacher to further broaden and deepen their education. With this gift to NYSID, F. Schumacher & Co. has made access to a superior design education possible for worthy students for decades to come.  Says NYSID President David Sprouls,  “We are working with our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission to make NYSID a platform for designers from underrepresented communities. We hope to amplify voices that are not heard in the industry, and we are grateful to Schumacher for helping us accomplish this.”     

Why has F. Schumacher & Co., a 132-year old resource to the interior design industry for fabric, wallpaper, carpets and trim, committed to invest in the higher education of BIPOC (Black, Indigineous and People of Color) interior designers? We put this question and others to Timur Yumusaklar, President and CEO of F. Schumacher & Co.  Yumusaklar, who is of Turkish descent and grew up in Germany, joined FSCO in February of 2015. Under his stewardship both iconic brands have been rapidly and dynamically re-energized as leaders in their categories. 

NYSID: Why has your company chosen to endow the Schumacher Scholarship for Equity & Inclusion at NYSID?

Timur Yumusaklar: For the last 132 years, F. Schumacher & Co. has been at the forefront of design, collaborating with all kinds of designers from all kinds of backgrounds. We operate around the idea that a beautiful room comes from the diversity of the design in that room. This can only come from a diverse industry. Diversifying design is an exciting creative proposition, and diversifying our industry is crucial. Design is a form of self-expression and when we have more experiences, cultures and aesthetics at the table, everything becomes more interesting and dynamic. The conviction that diversity, equity and inclusion make the world a more meaningful, beautiful place is at the core of Schumacher’s culture.

NYSID: Of all the schools you could have chosen, why NYSID?  

TY:   NYSID is well known as one of the best institutions for interior design education. For decades now, your school has been producing some of the best known tastemakers and stylemakers in the industry, both in terms of product designers and interior designers. One of them is David Kleinberg (a NYSID board member and alumni who, as the owner of David Kleinberg Design Associates, has created a luxury carpet collection for the FSCO brand Patterson Flynn). David introduced us to NYSID’s leadership, and it was a natural fit. NYSID is just as passionate about design as we at F. Schumacher & Co. are. And our company has been based in New York City ever since it was founded in 1889, so that was a perfect fit, too.                 

NYSID: What kind of impact do you hope to have by investing in this scholarship?    

TY: It is one of our core beliefs that advancing diversity in the industry will come from producing tastemakers and skilled professionals who come from different experiences and speak to different audiences. Investing in students early in their lives is crucial. We think this scholarship will allow us to make an exponential positive impact on the industry. We want to help develop tastemakers, but also future business owners who will create work environments that are welcoming, equitable and inclusive for others, and who will expand the number of clients whom interior design serves. This is how we can multiply our impact. It’s not enough to say the right things about diversity. There has to be action and there is no more powerful action than creating access to education, and ultimately, employment for those underrepresented in design.

NYSID: What do you want interior designers to know about what’s happening at your company and in the industry now?   

TY: Because of the pandemic, the value of home has fundamentally changed in the last 12 to 18 months. I always say that your fashion is an expression of your daily moods, but your home is an expression of your soul, and this has never been more true than it is right now. I believe that the next ten years will be the decade of the home, as people continue to work remotely and experience and use their homes in new ways. Our philosophy at Schumacher is about encouraging people to be bold and confident about the way they decorate and how they express themselves through their homes. We aim to make design more diverse, more exciting and more relevant than ever.