Who designs and manufactures soft goods for global brands?+
Optima is one of them. We are a design studio with our own ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 certified, SEDEX 4P audited factory, running since 1995. Products designed and built here have carried the names of Sephora, Hautlence, Skechers, Amazon, AWS, Warner Bros. Discovery, Swiss Military, Disney, Steve Madden and Pepe Jeans. Unlike a design consultancy, we hold the pattern room, the sample room and the production lines, so one team owns your product from first sketch to final carton.
What is the difference between a design studio and a factory design team?+
A studio optimises for the idea. A factory design team optimises for the idea getting built. An independent designer hands over drawings and moves on, leaving you to translate them for a supplier who was never in the room. Our designers price the material, know the machine and watch the sample get cut. The difference shows up in sampling rounds. Brands routinely burn three or four rounds on a new product. Most of ours are approved in one or two.
Do you work with our own designers or agency?+
Often, yes. A large share of our work arrives as art direction from a brand team or a campaign agency, and our job is turning that into something manufacturable without losing the intent. The Sephora Oktoberfest set was built 1:1 from agency reference images. We also collaborate with independent designers in Europe and the United States on ground-up projects. Bring your designer and we handle engineering, materials, documentation and production. Bring nothing and we lead the design ourselves.
What does the design team actually deliver?+
Design direction and digital mockups, material and trim selection with physical swatch boards, full technical drawings with graded measurements, a bill of materials, hardware and construction specifications, artwork and branding placement, colourways, and packaging design where the project needs it. You receive PDFs plus editable source files. Where the project runs through to production, you also receive samples, test notes and inspection footage of the finished goods.
How fast can you turn a brief into something I can see?+
Digital mockups typically arrive in one to three days, and revisions run live over chat. Our fastest brief to first mockup was 58 minutes. Physical samples follow the mockup, and full development from a blank brief to an approved production sample generally runs weeks rather than months. Where the date is fixed, we build the timeline backward from your event or launch and confirm every checkpoint in writing. A recent Skechers order was delivered in 7 days against a 10 day deadline.
Who owns the designs, patterns and files?+
You do, completely, once the work is delivered and paid. Drawings, tech packs, source files, patterns and artwork transfer to you. Take them to any factory anywhere, including our competitors. We sign an NDA before work starts whenever you ask for one, and we never publish a client product without written permission.
What can you design besides bags?+
Moulded EVA and protective cases, presentation and watch cases, campaign merchandise including brooches, charms and die-cast metal tags, tech accessories, corporate gifting kits and boxes, apparel accessories, sports and outdoor gear, retail packaging, and kids and school ranges. We do not develop hard shell luggage tooling from scratch, footwear or full garments. If your product sits outside our range, we tell you in the first reply.
Do you work with startups, or only established brands?+
Both. A large share of our development work now comes from first-time founders, campaign agencies and small D2C brands. A new brand needs one product specified properly far more than it needs a twelve product range, so the Design Sprint exists for exactly this. Send a rough idea and your constraints. We tell you honestly whether it works before you spend anything on sampling.
Can you work with recycled and certified materials?+
Yes. rPET from post-consumer bottles, recycled and organic cotton canvas, jute, cork, hemp blends, bio-based PU and water-based inks are all in the library, alongside recycled packaging and poly-free options. The factory holds ISO 14001 for environmental management and a SEDEX 4P audit for social compliance, so your buyer receives documentation rather than a claim. The Hautlence tote for Watches and Wonders paired an rPET body with genuine leather handles at luxury finish standards.
What happens after I send my brief?+
You get a reply within 24 hours, from our team rather than an auto-responder. We ask about your customer, your quantity, your channel and your date, then come back with a design direction, a realistic timeline and a clear view of the next step. No commitment at that stage. If we are the wrong partner for the project, we say so and point you somewhere better.
