Up to the turn of the last century, many professional artists prepared their own canvases. As more and more amateurs took up the brush, the demand for canvas prepared by traditional methods grew. In 1906, close to the River Leie and in the middle of the Flax District, Victor Claessens founded a company to produce top quality artist's canvas. To that end, he refined the tried and tested methods that had been passed down from generation to generation. 

Almost a century later, Claessens NV is still operating in the original buildings in Waregem. The descendants of Victor Claessens have made the conscious choice to keep a small scale approach to production and to honor the traditional methods for treating artist's canvas. Nowadays much of the work is done by machine, but the core of the production has remained unchanged. This respect for tradition and experience has made Claessens a household name amongst artists, stretching far beyond the borders of Europe.