For nearly 70 years, Isabella has crafted premium camping experiences that bring freedom, beauty, and lasting memories to the outdoors.
In 1957, Søren Odgaard stitched together a tent in his basement because he couldn’t find one good enough to take his family outdoors. He believed camping should feel free, not fragile. And he knew that freedom only comes from things built with care.
That first tent turned into a small workshop, then a factory, then a company that helped shape European camping. What he started was a way of life centered around simplicity, good materials, and time outside.
The spirit that started in that basement still guides us today:
If something can be made better, make it better. If it helps people feel free outdoors, it’s worth doing.
Søren believed the smallest details decide the life of a product. A zipper that never quits. A seam that stays true after years in the sun. A pole that doesn’t bend when the weather turns.
Those weren’t luxuries to him, they were responsibilities.
This mindset shaped everything Isabella became. From the invention of the circular peephole to the CarbonX pole inspired by a pair of cross-country ski poles, every improvement came from curiosity and a refusal to compromise. Not to be clever, not to be fast, but to be right.
Good materials, honest construction, and the patience to refine them… that’s the Danish way. And it’s why Isabella products endure long after trends pass.
Craftsmanship is slow. Freedom is the reward.
Isabella has always been built by people who take pride in what they make. Seamstresses who learn their craft stitch by stitch. Toolmakers who design machines no one else has. Employees whose decades of service are honored by planting oak trees, symbols of deep roots and long commitments.
Søren believed a company should feel like a community, not a production line. That belief is why many of the people who joined Isabella stayed for most of their lives. Skill is taught. Pride is earned. And respect is something you show in the small, everyday moments.
Even today, long after the first factory lights turned on in Vejle, the same hands-on approach continues. European-made. Human-driven. Quietly exacting.
Good work shows its value long after the day it’s made.
Søren believed camping only works when people and places are cared for. You can craft the strongest canvas in the world, but without healthy communities, good campsites, and people who love this way of living, nothing endures.
This belief led to the creation of Isabellafonden in 1976.
The foundation supports Isabella employees and their families through education, health needs, and life’s unexpected turns. But its mission reaches further. A majority of its giving strengthens the camping world itself. Supporting campsites, outdoor initiatives, and the organizations that keep outdoor and camping culture thriving.
It’s a quiet promise to care for both sides of the journey:
