The Modern Dane found Jacob Andsager grew up in the small town of Broager, Denmark, and has been living in the US since 2002. After spending 10 years in Chicago, a city he loves, he says arriving in the Pacific Northwest “felt like coming home.” Yet after some time, he started to feel that he was losing touch with his own heritage and culture; he wanted to reconnect with the values of home.

"I had the idea of bedding—treating it as a canvas,” he said, adding that these items naturally become an intimate part of our lives, with one-third of one's life spent in bed. He dreamt of nature motifs that would honor where he comes from.

However, when Jacob dove into the world of textiles he quickly discovered why cotton is called "the world's dirtiest crop"— Billions of pounds of pesticides and fertilizers, and billions of gallons of water spent on irrigation depleting fragile ecosystems; not to mention the human costs of child labor and the poverty it leaves in its wake. Jacob knew he wanted no part in this industry and went looking for an alternative. After much research and connecting with various environmental organizations and consortiums, he learned about certified organic European flax linen and he knew he had found the answer. “I fell in love with linen,” he said, “head over heels. Flax needs zero irrigation and zero pesticides, it's a natural carbon sink, and the processing is purely mechanical requiring zero chemicals. It is where quality meets sustainability, naturally. Plus, it's just a gorgeous textile which offers unparalleled comfort.”

After discovering that Portugal is "the cradle of textiles," he traveled to the beautiful town of Guimarães in 2018. Here he attended a trade show taking place in a magical setting — atop a hill, in an ancient monastery. Though the trip there took some 36 hours (and involved mishaps like getting stranded in a train station), Andsager found it to be a worthwhile, “incredible journey.” He got the chance to talk to at least 30 manufacturers, and he traveled to factories to oversee fascinating parts of the process like weaving.

When launching The Modern Dane, he chose to use only GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), OEKO-TEX, and certified European Flax linen, "which means that every part of the final product has been tested to meet the highest environmental and toxicological standards." When it came to determining the aesthetics, Andsager knew he wanted to utilize the duvet covers' big surfaces, allowing “the beauty of the linen to shine through.” The exquisite yet simple patterns come from "my own expression of Scandinavian nature," he said.

Andsager is proud of the fact that The Modern Dane works direct-to-consumer, meaning they cut out the middleman and sell much higher-quality products at a lower cost. It also means they can take control of details like delivering items in eco-friendly boxes, and it leads to great relationships with customers as well.

Seeing the way the products have been received has brought much joy. Andsager always appreciates getting feedback, especially from those who have happily redesigned entire rooms based on their new bedding. “I go to bed thinking of the thousands of people sleeping under our linens and enjoying a safe and soothing sleep," Andsager said, “It’s been a thrill."