In a bright yellow building near FM 1774 in Magnolia, Nancys Fancys Ceramics serves as a getaway for customers of all ages looking to reminisce with friends while creating lasting memories through works of art.

Nancy Jarrett was encouraged by her mother to paint pottery for the first time when she was 9 years old. Over the years, Jarrett refined her craft with the creation of a home ceramics business in the late 1990s. In 2002, Jarrett transformed her love of art into a career by refurbishing the site of a rundown bar to make way for the launch of her Nancys Fancys Ceramics storefront.

"I taught myself [how to paint]," Jarrett said. "My mom always said if [something] stood still long enough, I painted it. I painted everything—canvas, metal, walls, murals. I like that part of it. That's the creativity."

The studio offers open painting hours and hosts hands-on classes to teach customers through a variety of art mediums, such as traditional ceramics and pottery, as well as glass, canvas and clay mediums, Jarrett said. The cost for children to paint ceramics and other projects starts at $12, and special-occasion platters for weddings and other events tend to average about $30, she said.

From start to finish, each painted product is returned to customers within a week after receiving a glaze seal and spending about two days in one of the studio's five kilns that reach 1,845 degrees Fahrenheit, Jarrett said. The studio prides itself on producing an estimated 85 percent of the mold castings on-site for ceramics available in the store, she said.

"I started out with 250 molds and now I'm at more than 10,000," Jarrett said. "Usually, on average, we make 40–50 pieces a day. The back part of [the storefront] is stacked ceiling high with molds. I have probably 3,000 or 4,000 [molds] still at my home of the bigger stuff."

Three years ago, Nancys Fancys Ceramics debuted a new 650-square-foot room to accommodate larger groups for birthday parties, BYOB group paint nights, company outings, Scout troops and other gatherings.

Jarrett's sister, Penny Westrup, has been employed at the studio on and off since it opened. For the past five years, Westrup has worked in the back of the shop to produce ceramic mold castings for customers.

"Some people have been coming [to the studio] so long they are like family to us," Westrup said.

Jarrett said she has known many of the groups who frequent the studio for more than a decade and also strives to form lasting friendships with customers.

"It's the art that keeps me here—that's my passion," Jarrett said. "One of my customers has cancer, and she's going through a hard time. We're all here for her. They all pull together, and it's a big-time supportive group."

The business regularly sees customers from the surrounding Magnolia area, as well as Spring, The Woodlands and Houston, Jarrett said.

"We've done very well—most of my business is word of mouth," Jarrett said. "People learn and they know me and meet me. They know what I can do and what I can't do. Most [people] are just asking for a little bit of advice and go do their own thing."

A Magnolia resident for nearly 30 years, Jarrett said she has plans to retire in the area. As for the future of her business, Jarrett plans to expand the facility by the end of 2015 to house a gift shop featuring home decor and refurbished furniture.

"There's not a day that I don't like coming in and seeing the people and trying something new," Jarrett said. "We love it."