BRIEF HISTORY OF OPTIMA LEATHERS

AFFORDABLE LUXURY

• Founded in 1984 by owner Steven Judd as a distributor for high-end leather for footwear, handbags, and outerwear.

• In 2000, Steven expanded to include upholstery leather, securing relationships with major manufacturers that continue today.

• Sister company Mima Leathers was founded in 2010. Mima purchases the unfinished hides and controls the finishing process, ensuring that Mima and ultimately, Optima Leathers can provide uniformity of both quality and aesthetics.

• Mima Leathers is headquartered in Milan, with production in Arzignano, Italy.

• Optima Leathers offers 33 qualities of leather, with a combined total of 290 colors.

• We have access to hundreds of embossing plates, that are not part of our standard production, so we most likely match or find something very similar.

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FULL GRAIN/TOP GRAIN THE SIMPLE TRUTH To provide durable leather for upholstery, tanners split the hide and use up to the top 4/64ths of an inch. Each hide is then graded according to the corrections it may require. Top grain simply refers to the top of the skin or hide. Top grains are graded into full grain or corrected grain leathers. Full grain hides require no surface alterations. Only about 3% to 5% of all hides meet the standards for full grain. With their beauty and softness, uncorrected full grain leathers are the finest available. Each hide is unique and contains surface marks such as healed wounds that document the animal’s life and testify to the leather’s authenticity. Lower selection top grain leathers require correction, thus becoming corrected grain leathers. Correction includes sanding and buffing to remove the old grain, then embossing to impart a new, artificial grain. The process removes some of the luxurious feel found in natural full grain leather, but the strength of top grain leather remains. Optima Leather, as a high quality leather resource, takes great care in the amount of sanding necessary to achieve the perfect balance of durability and aesthetic.

**All full grain hides are top grain, but not all top grain hides are full grain (Because top grain hides can be lightly sanded to remove certain imperfections and markings, also adding durability.) ***Optima Leather’s exceptions to top grain *** Suede Made from the lower split of a hide – Suede. This product is not recommended for high traffic areas. Should generally be used in residential projects. Laminated Our laminated leathers are laminated on top of a lower split. However, because of the lamination process, the end result is highly durable and will not peel off.

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THE TANNING PROCESS

Leather hides are shipped from meat packing facilities one of two ways; either frozen and delivered in frozen trucks for conservation, or packed with rock salt (as a preservative) on pallets. The tanneries must first remove the salt by tumbling the hides in an open-framed drum. As the hides flop around, the salt falls through, is collected and then returned to the meat packing plants for use on future shipments.

Once the salt has been removed, the hair must be removed. The process is called liming. Hair is removed by submersing the hide in a drum containing a mixture of calcium hydroxide, which breaks down the bond between the hair and skin. The hides are then trimmed to remove any flesh and /or fat still attached to the skin. The hides must now be “de-limed”. This is known as the pickled phase.

The hides are then tanned for the specific type of product being made. There are several options for tanning:

• Chrome – These hides will have a very soft supple hand with a wide range of bright vivid colors. It is the most common tannage for upholstery leathers.

• Vegetable Matter – These hides will have a fuller, more rigid feel but with limited color options. Leather tanned both times with vegetable would be used for shoe soles or horse saddles.

• Synthetic – These hides are less supple than chrome but not as rigid as vegetable and have fewer color options than chrome, but more options than veg.

NOTE: A majority of Optima Leathers products are chrome tanned, which is the most common form for upholstery leathers.

They will next be sorted for selection. They are now split and shaved into the thickness needed for the product desired.

Now we proceed with the coloring phase and the completed hides are ready for a dye “bath”. The hides are submersed in a drum containing a measured amount of dye and then agitated until a majority of the dyestuffs are absorbed into the hides. During this process, fat liquors may be added for softness, or resins to make the leather firm – to achieve the desired hand/feel of the product. (Note: this process takes 12- 24 hours.)

3 TANNING-CONTINUED…

Hides that are removed from the dye bath need to be dried. There are several methods of drying, each with an impact on what the final product looks like:

• Toggle Drying – This is a very common form of drying. The hides are clipped to a metal frame that goes through a large “oven” where heat and airflow are used to dry the hides.

• Air Drying – This is another common form of drying. The hides are draped over poles on a conveyor that slowly moves around the ceiling of the tannery.

• Vacuum Drying – This is a form of drying used to achieve a very specific appearance in the finished product. The hide is spread out on a hot surface and a cover is laid over the hide and the moisture is “vacuumed” out of the leather. This produces a very smooth/tight grain texture.

After drying the hides will be slightly stiff. They are now softened either by milling or by staking.

• Milling is done in a drum (like a large clothes dryer) and will produce a more pronounced and bumpy grain.

• Staking is done on a machine where the hides are run on a conveyor. As the hides pass through the machine, small pins pound on the hide, essentially massaging it. Staking has minimal effect on the grain texture, and is thus used when a tighter grain texture is desired.

Leather must now be prepared for finishing:

• Full Aniline – these leathers are now complete, although in some instances oils and /or waxes are applied to the surface.

• Nubuck – these leathers are sanded to produce a nap and then production is completed.

• Semi-Aniline – these leathers may go straight to the spray line if they are going to be full grain, or they may be “snuffed” or lightly sanded if they are going to be enhanced or corrected grain.

4 A brief summary of terms:

Full Grain – The surface has not been altered in any way

Enhanced Grain – The surface is lightly sanded to remove light surface imperfections

Corrected Grain – The surface is sanded to remove imperfections and then embossed with a fake grain texture

The spray line consists of a series of spray guns that apply the finish on the surface of the leather hides. The hides may be passed through the spray line a number of times to apply additional finish applications (i.e., one pass for the color coat and a second pass for a clear topcoat).

Hides are now taken to an ironing machine. The irons are large rollers that use heat and/or pressure to create a desired effect on the hides. Some rollers have artificial grain prints on them and these are used to produce corrected grain leathers.

All leathers are now inspected at the tanneries prior to packaging and shipment. The hides are sorted into first selection, second selection, or rejects based primarily on the cleanliness of the skin. Scars, holes and other surface imperfections are taken into consideration. Seconds are primarily used for sampling purposes. Rejects are held by the tannery and re-worked into a lower grade product. For example, full grain leathers can be reprocessed into enhanced grain leathers, and enhanced grain leathers can be reprocessed into corrected grain leathers.

Graded hides are then measured and packaged for shipment to Optima in New York. Once at Optima, all leather is stored on “horses” to prevent creasing.

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WHY FINISH LEATHER?

v Enhance appearance

♦ Make leather more attractive to the eye ♦ Create almost any variety of colors, textures, special affects ♦ Increase sales appeal v Protect leather

♦ Increase durability and/or useful life of leather ♦ Impart and/or increase water resistance ♦ Impart and/or increase light fastness v Upgrade leather quality

♦ Improve uniformity of surface color, minimize variation within each hide and between hides ♦ Increase cutting yield of hide ♦ Cover grain surface defects, damages and blemishes

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LEATHER AND SUSTAINABILITY When specifying products for design projects, leather is an environmentally friendly option. Leather has been the material of choice for centuries. As a product of nature, it does not require as many manufacturing processes as other man-made materials, such as synthetic fabrics and vinyl. In addition, leather is a much more durable product, lasting up to five times longer than fabric. This reduces replacement costs, as well as unnecessary waste. The most important point to consider when purchasing leather is that the material is a byproduct of the meat industry. Animals are never harmed solely for the use of their skins. The skins used to make Optima’s products would otherwise become landfill. Prior to production, the skins are placed in salt for preservation or on frozen trucks and shipped from meat packing plants to our Italian tanneries. The salt used is recovered and returned for use on future shipments. The skins are then split and trimmed. Optima Leather only uses the top layer of the hides to produce top and full grain products. The lower level splits and trimmings are used to make suede, bonded leather and other lower-end products that are used by other distributors. (**NOTE: We do have a sueded product – Suede – not recommended for high traffic areas.) During the tanning process, the dyes and other ingredients used are carefully measured for each production run, so that virtually 100% of these products are absorbed into the leather hides. Remnant water generated by our tanneries is directed to special treatment facilities that return it to the environment actually cleaner than it originally started. The hides are then placed on pallets to be transferred to our headquarters in New York. After the hides arrive, these pallets may be returned to the tanneries in Italy for future use, reused to ship large orders to customers, or collected by third parties to use in other industries. When the finished products arrive from Italy to our NY warehouse, conditions are such that leather has an infinite shelf life. No products are ever lost due to degradation. Reduce, reuse and recycle are everyday terms practiced at Optima Leather, in both our offices and warehouse. Our sampling department takes great care to utilize the maximum amount of each hide when cutting samples and our staff chooses hide sizes as closely as possible to the desired square footage to fill client orders. Old samples are donated to charitable organizations and we encourage our representatives to donate any old samples to interior design programs in their area.

7 LEATHER GLOSSARY

A

Aniline: The transparent dye used to color leather all the way through. It conceals none of the natural characteristics or markings.

Antique/Distressed: Common descriptive terms for leather that shows signs of natural aging and wear that have been artificially created.

B

Blues, in the – The state of hides which have been tanned once using chromium salts. This results in hides that are light blue in color.

Bovine – An animal belonging to the cattle or ox family.

Breathability – An important characteristic of full-grain leather due to its intact grain and pore structure. This means the leather adjusts to temperature and wicks away moisture and body heat, making it extremely comfortable.

Brush Coloring – The process of applying dyestuff to the leather by means of a brush. This is a cosmetic process. Dyes are not saturated into the hide.

Buffed Leather – Leather from which the top surface grain has been removed by abrasive or bladed cylinder; or less generally by hand. In the case of upholstery leather the buffing process is invariably carried out by machine though sometimes incorrectly described as “hand buffed”.

C

Chamois Leather – Leather made from sheep or lambskin from which grain has been removed in the tanning process using oils.

Chromium Salts – Minerals used in the tanning process to make the leather supple and durable.

Chrome Tanning – Leather tanned either solely with chromium salts or with chromium salts together with quite small amounts of other tanning agents used merely to assist the chrome tanning process, and not a sufficient amount to alter the essential chrome tanned character of the leather. Chrome tanning results in soft, mellow hides receptive to excellent color variety.

Combination Tanning – Leather which receives chrome and vegetable tannage producing suppleness and body in hides. Some tanning agents can penetrate notably but not necessarily into the interior of the material.

8 Corrected Grain- A leather that is buffed to remove undesirable blemishes and embossed to simulate an attractive grain or to add decorative texture.

Curing – Tanning process of cleaning the leather – consists of soaking, liming and fleshing.

D

Drum Dyeing – The application of dyestuffs to leather by the immersion of the leather in a drum that is tumbled. This process allows full dye penetration into the fiber.

E

Embossed Grain – An artificial grain pressed into the surface of the top grain leather from which the original grain has been removed.

Embossed Leather – Usually corrected grain, in which a pattern is applied by extreme pressure in a press to give a unique design or imitation of full grain characteristics. Sometimes embossing emulates other leathers such as an alligator.

F

Fat Wrinkle – Wrinkles in the grain of leather caused by fat deposits in the animal that are part of the beauty in leathers. Fat wrinkles are not visible in imitation or inferior leathers.

Finish – Generally defines a surface application on leather to color, protect or mask imperfections. More specifically it refers to all processes done to leather after it has been tanned.

Full Grain – Leather bearing the original grain surface as exposed by removal of the hair and with none of the surface removed by buffering or splitting. This grain is what gives each type of leather its distinctive appearance and style.

G

Glazed Finish- a glossy, smooth, sheen imparted to leather by polishing with a glass or steel rollers.

Grain – The pattern characterized by the pores, cells, wrinkles and other characteristics which constitute the natural texture of leather.

Grain Character – The natural markings on the surface of the leather.

Grain Layer – The portion of a hide or skin extending from the surface exposed by removal of hair or wool.

Grain Sueded – A buffing process to raise the fibers on the grain side of a hide or skin to produce a velvet-like effect. This is also known as “Nubuck” leather

9 L

Leather – Hide or skin which retains its original fibrous more or less intact. The hide is then treated and colored to enable it to be a covering for furniture, walls or floors. The hair or wool may or may not be removed. In the case of the “hair on hide”, typically it is referred to as fur.

Liming – The process of removing the hair from a hide preparing hides for tanning process.

M

Metalized Leather – Leather given a metallic luster by application of metallic foils or powders.

N

Natural Markings - Common leather markings include: shading variations, healed scratches, neck wrinkles, insect bites, barbed wire marks, stretch marks, vein marks, and brands. Although useful in distinguishing real from fake leathers, and “naked” leathers from pigmented ones, new finishing techniques make it possible to simulate natural markings.

Napa – Soft full grain gloving or clothing leather made from unsplit sheep or lambskin or kid- skin. It is usually tanned with alum and chromium salts and dyed throughout the substance.

Nubuck - A top-grain, aniline dyed leather that is buffed to create a soft nap. NOT a true suede, which is made from the less desirable split hide. Especially vulnerable to stains, nubucks are often lightly finished (or Scotchgarded) for protection.

P

Parchment – Translucent or opaque material with a smooth surface suitable for writing, bookbinding and other purposes. It is made from the hides of sheep or goatskin by drying out the limed material without applying tannage. The material being thoroughly cleansed and degreased and smoothed during the process.

Patent Leather – Leather with a glossy, impermeable finish produced by successive coats of drying oils, varnish or synthetic resins.

Patina – A natural characteristic that develops on full grain leather through normal use over a period of time. Another term used interchangeably is “weathering”.

Pearlized – Colored leather which results in a pearlized or soft sheen luster.

10 Perforated – Small die-cut holes that form a pattern. The hole size and pattern may vary.

Pigmented Leather - A leather that is finished with a solid pigment coating for consistency of color and texture. Pigment may be used to cover imperfections, as well as add protection. Generally used to denote a more promotional leather. Sometimes called “painted” leather.

Plated Leather, Plating – Pressing leather with a heated metal plate under high pressure to cover imperfections.

Printed Leather – Leather which is either embossed or silk-screened.

Pull-Up – Full grain leather that derives its color from dyes. When leather is pulled, the oils or the waxes in the leather cause the color to dissipate and become lighter in areas which are pulled tight.

Pure Aniline - A top-grain leather that is aniline dyed and receives no additional coloring, but may include a protective treatment such as Scotchgard. Also called full aniline or naked leather.

S

Sauvage – The two tone effect with a mottled appearance that adds depth and character to the leather. Created two ways; by blending similar colors during the dyeing process or by mechanical process during finishing.

Selecting – The sorting or grading of hides and skins using predetermined criteria such as area, thickness, grain quality.

Semi-Aniline Leather – The term is used to describe aniline dyed leather which has only a small amount of clear or pigmented finish. Leather whose surface coating only partly obscures the natural grain.

Shave – Hides are shaved to a particular thickness after tannage by a large shaving machine. The excess is removed from the bottom of the hide.

Shrunken Grain – Leather specially tanned so as to shrink the grain layer and having a grain surface of uneven folds and valleys. Sometimes referred to as “drawn grain”. This process is used to enhance the grain character of the leather.

Split - The bottom layers of the hide that have been split off from the top-grain leather, then pigmented or sueded. Generally stiffer and less durable, splits may be used on promotional leather furniture – particularly in areas of less direct use – to contain costs.

Strap Leather – Heavyweight, vegetable tanned leather usually used for industrial use.

Suede – Velvet-like nap finish produced on leather by abrasive action. This is generally called Nubuck or grain sueded.

11 T

Tannin – Any various solvent, astringent substances of plant origin used in tanning leather.

Tanning – Processing whereby raw hide and skins are converted into leather.

Tipped Leather – Leather which has a contrast color coat (either lighter or darker than the base shade) applied by a roller to the tips of an embossed grain.

Top Coat - A transparent, protective coating applied to the leather surface. May also impart luster.

Top Grain - The uppermost layer of the hide. This is the highest quality part of the hide and the most preferred for upholstery applications.

Trim – The removal of the outer edges of the hide not suitable for making leather.

Top Finish – leather which has been given a final coating of a finish to confer special properties such as gloss, color level, fastness to wet and staining.

V

Vegetable Tanned – Leather tanned exclusively with vegetable tanning agents, or with such materials together with small amounts of other agents used merely to assist in the tanning process. Vegetable tanning is principally used to produce firm, non stretchy leather for shoe soles, belts and other leather goods.

W

Wet Blue Leather – Leather which after chrome tanning has not been further processed and is sold in wet condition.

Y

Yield – The amount of useable area after all waste and imperfections have been discarded.

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