Willem Verstraeten was the son of the Antwerp merchant Jean de la Rue, who left Antwerp probably soon after the Fall of Antwerp and moved to the Northern Netherlands, translating his French name to the Dutch "Jan Verstraeten". He moved to Haarlem in 1590. Willem was probably born shortly afterwards in Haarlem, and his father sent him to Delft 1613, where Willem worked at "De Porceleyne Schotel" factory. In 1617 Willem is documented there as a "contractant". In 1625 however he was back in Haarlem where he opened his own porcelain factory "Geleyer Plateelbackerije" in the Begijnhof where he made "Hollands Porceleyn". He must have been able to grow his business quickly, because in 1628 "Willem Jansz op het Begijnhof" was mentioned by Samuel Ampzing as a noted "plateel" manufacturer. The archives of Delft and Haarlem have documents that reflect various aspects of his life and that of his sons, most notably Gerrit who continued his business in Haarlem. Willem was a successful businessman and held leading positions in the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke from 1638. He died in Haarlem in 1655.