Steven Ijadi, president of Optima Leathers, was born and raised in Italy until the age of 14. His parents moved to New York where Steven attended high school. Steven attended night school at NYU, but was soon bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and decided to turn his attention to starting his own business. Given Steven's passion for fine leather, he launched and incorporated Leather Trends as a distributor for high-end leather for footwear, handbags and outerwear in 1986.

In 2000 Steven expanded his business, seeing a need in the high-end furniture market for beautiful and durable hides at a great price. At that time, most of the hides were procured from South America. He started to distribute leathers for the US upholstery industry securing relationships with major manufacturers that continue today. Steven soon discovered a need for beautiful, durable and affordable leather for the architectural and design community. 

To maintain the desired quality of his hides, Steven switched his sources from South America to North America and Europe where the select hides are of the highest quality and more consistent. These hides are then sent to a tannery in Italy, where the most exquisite finishing is completed.
Extraordinary finishing techniques, which result in beautiful, supple and incredibly durable leather is only half the story. Price point is of utmost importance, thus the tagline AFFORDABLE LUXURY.

The comfort and luxuries of leather has been realized for centuries. Optima Leathers continues that tradition by showing designers a way to use leather not only for its inherent beauty but its lasting results at a great price.

Optima adheres to a entirely non-polluting policy, where tanneries use the strictest guidelines to ensure minimal waste, high quality and a product that is environmentally sound.

AFFORDABLE LUXURY IS OPTIMA