Daly's company history is just as colorful as the back of a painter's truck. In the early 1930's Walter J. Daly arrived in Seattle by way of Texas. Before Seattle, he owned design studios in Dallas, Chicago and New York. He even designed parade floats in Pasadena. After arriving in Seattle, just after the Great Depression, he worked as a both a designer and contractor. One of his early Seattle jobs was to bleach the woodwork in Seattle's historic Olympic Hotel. Soon, other contractors were asking Walter for his unique bleaching formulation for their own projects. Walter found himself in the manufacturing business.  Early Daly's Products In the late 1940's the Seattle retail store opened in a small wood-frame shop that is now attached to our current store. Back then it held the entire Daly's operation; it's still in use today as our laboratory and back stock area. Walter settled into Seattle, married Ethel and they had two children; Jim and Bill. Walter's nephew, Herb Paulson, came to work for the company in the 1940's. A classic family business.
Jim and Bill told stories of collecting bottles from around the neighborhood as young boys for their father to fill with wood finishes, Herb shared stories of Walter's creative business escapades, and Ethel both raised her boys and worked in the business. The store and factory were fine, but it became evident that the contracting business would need to go. Sadly, Walter passed away unexpectedly on his final scheduled contract job — painting the Sandpoint Naval Base. Ethel was a young widow and single mother in the 1950's running a business. By the mid-50's Daly's incorporated, added wallpaper to the mix and Ethel started teaching classes in the back room. This was the beginning of Daly's reputation as being THE place for expert advice. The 1960's saw the expansion of Daly's into Bellevue when it was just a sleepy suburb of Seattle. Ethel retired in the early 1970's and Jim and Herb ran the company for many years. Daly's Wood Finishes also expanded their distribution beyond their two stores.  Daly's Catalog Cover from the Late 1970s Today, Daly's is owned by Walter's grand-daughter Robin Daly, along with her husband Daren Hecker. You can find Daly's Wood Finishes up and down the west coast spanning from Texas to Canada. Daly's continues to evolve but the goal remains the same - provide only the highest quality products, increase customer satisfaction and share our expertise and knowledge.  Daly's is proud to have made donations to the following groups and organizations in the last year:
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