Our story
Family-made in California since 1907
Angelus started at a Los Angeles shoeshine stand run by a Greek immigrant named Paul T. Angelos. Five generations later, the Angelos family still makes Angelus paint, dye and polish in our own plant in Santa Fe Springs, California, with Paul G. Angelos as owner, his daughter Julie on corporate accounts and his grandson Tyler as CEO.
- 1907Founded in Los Angeles
- 5 generationsStill family-run
- Own plantSanta Fe Springs, CA
Angelus at a glance
| Founded | 1907, Los Angeles, California |
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| Founder | Paul T. Angelos |
| Owner | Paul G. Angelos, third generation |
| CEO | Tyler Angelos, fifth generation |
| Family in the business | Paul G. Angelos (owner), Julie Angelos McKinnon (Director of Corporate Accounts and Consultation) and Tyler Angelos (CEO), with Linda Angelos behind the scenes on colors and ideas |
| Made in | Our own plant in Santa Fe Springs, California |
| Known for | Leather paint, leather and suede dye, finishes, cleaners and shoe polish |
| Family of brands | Angelus, Angelus Direct, Lace Lab and Pecard |
Since 1907
119 years of Angelus
From a kitchen stove behind a shoeshine stand to a California plant that ships around the world. Scroll through the moments that made us.
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1907
A shoeshine stand in Los Angeles
Paul T. Angelos, a young Greek immigrant, came through Ellis Island, shined shoes in Chicago and arrived in Los Angeles with nothing. He worked another man’s stand until he could buy his own, then sent for his brothers George and Louie.
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Early days
Polish from the kitchen stove
The brothers grew to three downtown stands and 14 employees, one stand right beside the Pantages Theater, and Paul was crowned King of the Bootblacks. They cooked their own polish for the stands. Other bootblacks wanted to buy it, the stove couldn’t keep up, and a small shop opened on Winston Street.
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1917
The Angelus name is registered
The family sold the stands to make polish full time. Some ran the shop while others crossed the country with sample cases, shining shoes in repair shops to prove the polish worked.
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1924
A five-story plant on Maple Avenue
Orders kept climbing, so the family built a five-story factory in downtown Los Angeles. Paul’s son George joined full time in the early 1930s.
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1947
Sold, and nearly lost
With the founders near retirement, the family sold Angelus. The new owners moved it into an old Santa Cola bottling plant in Culver City and cut the expensive ingredients until the name meant almost nothing.
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1953
The family buys it back
Paul and George bought Angelus back and made good on every defective product carrying the Angelus name, even the ones they never made.
“It has our name on it and we will make it good.”
Paul T. Angelos, founder -
Culver City
Three generations at the bench
Paul’s grandson, Paul G. Angelos, grew up washing returned bottles beside his father and grandfather, mixing with wooden paddles and filling with a hose and funnel. As customers came back, he added machines, hired a crew and rebuilt Angelus into a name shops trust again.
“Capping was done by blistered hands.”
Paul G. Angelos, owner -
Side by side
Linda’s colors and ideas
Paul G. never built Angelus alone. His wife, Linda Angelos, was always right behind him, helping mix up new colors and bringing fun ideas to the line.
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1980s–90s
Julie steps up for her father
Paul G.’s daughter, Julie Angelos McKinnon, first pitched in at the plant around 1984, the fourth generation of the family to work at Angelus. When times got hard, she came back full time around 1996 to help her father keep the business going, and built the relationships with shops and distributors that Angelus still runs on. Today she is Director of Corporate Accounts and Consultation, and Tyler’s aunt.
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2006
A bigger home in Santa Fe Springs
After almost 60 years in Culver City, Angelus moved into a larger plant in Santa Fe Springs, California, where every bottle of paint, dye and polish is made today.
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2013
The fifth generation steps in
Tyler Angelos, Paul G.’s grandson, started in the shipping department, then took Angelus online with a new website, social media and YouTube. Today he runs the company as CEO.
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2016
Hypebeast tours the factory
Hypebeast visited the plant and talked with Paul G. and Tyler, the third and fifth generations, about how a shoe polish company became the go-to for sneaker customizers.
Watch the Hypebeast video (opens in a new tab) -
Social
A community online
Tyler built Angelus a following on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Customizers, restorers and shoe shiners share their work and tutorials there every day, and many first find Angelus through someone else’s custom.
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Amazon
On Amazon and Walmart
Angelus opened its official Angelus Brand store on Amazon and official listings on Walmart, so people can buy genuine Angelus wherever they already shop.
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TikTok Shop
Shop the video
Angelus launched its official TikTok Shop, so someone watching a custom come together on TikTok can buy the same paint and tools from Angelus without leaving the app.
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2021
A crew of 40+
The Santa Fe Springs plant grew past 40 employees, many of them with Angelus for decades.
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2020s
Built with artists
Sponsored artists, creator features, contests and classes taught by working customizers. Plenty of artists who learned on Angelus now teach the next wave.
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Today
Five generations and counting
Paul G. still owns Angelus, Julie leads corporate accounts and Tyler runs the company. Together they make 155 paint colors plus dyes, finishes, cleaners and polish in Santa Fe Springs, alongside a family of brands that includes Lace Lab and Pecard.
The Angelos family today
The family behind every bottle.
Angelus works because every generation brings something different: know-how from a lifetime on the plant floor, an eye for color, relationships that go back decades, and a new generation taking it to new customers.
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Paul G. Angelos
Owner, third generation
The founder’s grandson. Paul G. started as a boy scrubbing returned bottles in Culver City and grew a hose-and-funnel operation into a full production plant, without ever letting the quality slip.
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Linda Angelos
Colors and ideas
Paul G.’s wife and his partner behind the scenes. Linda was always there helping mix up new colors and bringing fun ideas to the Angelus line.
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Julie Angelos McKinnon
Director of Corporate Accounts and Consultation
Paul G.’s daughter and Tyler’s aunt. Julie first worked at Angelus around 1984 and came back full time around 1996, when her father needed her most. She looks after the companies and partners that carry Angelus.
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Tyler Angelos
CEO, fifth generation
Paul G.’s grandson. Tyler started in shipping in 2013, took Angelus online, built its following on social media and brought it to Amazon, Walmart and TikTok Shop. Today he runs the company day to day.
Read Tyler’s profile
Experience, creativity, relationships and fresh energy, all under one family name. That mix has kept Angelus in the Angelos family for five generations.
Made in Santa Fe Springs, California
We make it ourselves.
Every bottle of Angelus paint, dye and polish comes out of our own plant in Santa Fe Springs, mixed and filled by a team that has done it for decades. Many of our team members have been with us for more than 30 years, some more than 40.
Angelus Shoe Wax still uses the original 1907 formula, with carnauba wax and beeswax.
Inside the Angelus plant
Filled, capped and labeled by our own crew.
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1 oz. bottles being capped -
Hot Pink on the filling line -
Fresh bottles on the conveyor
See more
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Hypebeast tours the factory
Hypebeast visited our plant in 2016 and talked with Paul G. and Tyler Angelos.
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Sustainability
How we make Angelus responsibly in our own California plant.
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Where to buy Angelus
Specialty shops near you and official online stores.
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Every Angelus product
Item numbers, sizes, colors and safety data sheets.
About Angelus
When was Angelus founded?
Angelus was founded in 1907 in Los Angeles by Paul T. Angelos, a Greek immigrant who ran shoeshine stands downtown.
Who owns Angelus?
The Angelos family. Paul G. Angelos, the founder’s grandson, owns the company, and his grandson Tyler Angelos, the fifth generation, is CEO.
Where is Angelus made?
In our own plant at 12060 Florence Ave., Santa Fe Springs, California.
What brands are part of the Angelus family?
Angelus, Angelus Direct (our online store), Lace Lab and Pecard.
Is Angelus still family-owned?
Yes. The Angelos family has run Angelus for five generations. Paul G. Angelos owns the company, his daughter Julie Angelos McKinnon is Director of Corporate Accounts and Consultation, and his grandson Tyler Angelos is CEO.
Who runs Angelus day to day?
Tyler Angelos, the fifth generation of the Angelos family, runs Angelus as CEO.