As a stay-at-home mother looking for a hobby, Oak Ridge North resident Paula McClung said she dabbled with myriad crafts in her garage, including macrame, ceramics and needlepoint before she picked up glass design. After her work became popular at craft shows and through word of mouth from close friends, she made the move toward owning her own custom glass design and repair business. She said it was the diversity that attracted her to the work.

"After a while there is only so much you can do with macrame; I like the variety of [glass]—it changes every day," McClung said.

In 1983 McClung bought a stained-glass shop from a friend and five years later relocated from Conroe to the Oak Ridge North Business Park, working with her late husband, Tom, and her son Robert to build a steady clientele in The Woodlands.

February's Glass Designers was named after the month the original owner opened her store, and McClung kept the name when she acquired the business.

McClung creates unique custom pieces from doors to windows and bevels for homebuilders and individual customers. Working from boxes of photo designs, or from costumer requests or previous art work, each piece becomes a design reflective of the customer's unique style, she said.

"Everybody's taste is different," McClung said. "I am not a repetitive person, so when [customers] are picking a design—if they are a couple for example—they might pick two different designs, but I will often blend them together."

McClung's daughter, Kim Gibson, left her job in a downtown Houston bank to help out with the company.

Gibson had been working part-time keeping the company's books, but has since transitioned to full-time work after having a baby.

Gibson said typically it can take about less than a week to complete a design, but some projects take longer. For example, a stained- and lead-glass window for a customer's bathroom took her about seven days to finish, she said.

"The most enjoyable aspect of the work for me is the smile I get when it's over and [the customer is] happy with the design," Gibson said.

Robert Payne has been with the shop since high school and handles repairs and installations.

Six full-time employees, including two builders, work with McClung.

McClung's son Robert worked at the shop when he was in high school but left the glass business to pursue a job as a machinist in 2005.

In addition to working on multiple homes for various clients, February's Glass Designers has worked on commercial projects including local hotels.

McClung said she frequently gets requests from friends working on various glass projects to use the facility.

"They want to come and use the [work] tables, so we have classes on Saturdays because we are too busy during the week," she said.