Trade literature in the collection documents Sobota's reference library as well as his own furniture design. Those incorporating other designers include the Berkey & Gay Style Book, which may include works of his uncle Karl Schmidt, Widdicomb designs by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Renzo R. Rutili designs for Johnson Furniture Co. and Finn Juhl's designs for Baker. Sobota is known to have worked for the Grand Rapids Bookcase & Chair Co. and Hekman Furniture, though it is unknown if the catalogs in this collection document his own work. For the great part of his life he designed for the Century Furniture Co., with some of that work represented in the trade catalogs in this collection.

The Century Furniture Company catalogs in this collection document Sobota's classically based style designs including the Carlton House New World Regency of the 1960s and later the Chambery 19th century French Provincial and the Claridge 18th century Georgian references. One of his earliest styles for Century was Citations in 1954. He designed 135 collections for Century, all starting with the letter “C;” except his personal favorite, the “Sobota” Collection which has an oriental style adapted from the Chinese Ming period. One of his earliest suggestions to Century was to acquisition rights from the Henry Ford Museum for their furniture collection.

Trade catalogs with Sobota's ownership mark have also been found in Coll. 232, the Grand Rapids Public Library Furniture Design Collection.