Pierre Maes - Director

Pierre Maes graduated in art history from the University of Liège and dedicated his thesis to the study of the choral tapestries of the Collegiate Church of Montpezat-de-Quercy, France, and to their restoration at De Wit Royal Manufacturers under the direction of Prof. D. Allart, 2017.
Pierre Maes also graduated in human resources management from the Haute École de la Province de Liège, 2010. Since 2020, he has taken on the management of De Wit Royal Manufacturers.

Yvan Maes De Wit – Chairman

Yvan Maes De Wit studied art history and economic sciences at the Catholic University of Leuven and was trained by his grandfather Gaspard De Wit as a master weaver, restorer, and expert. He is a member of the Belgian Association of Art Experts (specialising in tapestries) and an expert appointed by the Brussels Commercial Court. In 1979, he became director of De Wit Royal Manufacturers and has chaired the company since 2020.

Emma Damen – Head of Conservation

Emma Damen graduated in Conservation-Restoration with a specialization in textiles in 2015 at the University of Antwerp. After this, she gained work experience in several places including the Fashion Museum of Antwerp (MoMu) and Brussels (Fashion & Lace) and International Platform for Art Research & Conservation (Iparc). After this, she got the opportunity to start a Baillet-Latour internship at the Conservation Studio of Historical and Contemporary Textiles, Costume and Accessories at the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA). After her internship, she was able to further specialize in the conservation of tapestries at KIK-IPRA. Since 2022, she joined the De Wit team as head of conservation.