Tatteljee was founded in 1972 by Mrs. Schmidt-Gerritsen, a few years after her husband first started making sleeping bags. Mick Schmidt was a very skilled individual, who designed his first tent during the second World War.

As part of a group of campers, they knew the founders of Bever Zwerfsport and Carl Denig personally. After the war Mick was asked to design tents for Carl Denig. A separate line of work, originally intended as a means of saving up for retirement, opened up soon after. This consisted of designing and making custom-made sleeping bags. What started out as a trickle soon turned into a stream.

Nowadays Tatteljee is a well-known name amongst hardcore campers.

After Mick's son Dick took over in 1986, Tatteljee moved from the family home to a former school in Zunderdorp, just outside of Amsterdam, in 1988. The range of products was expanded with a number of international brands - the North Face, Thermorest, MSR and others. Tatteljee also became an official dealer for Erdman-Schmidt tents.