Leslie Ligon travels from Midland, Texas, to Ashland whenever she needs a piece of jewelry designed.

Ligon, who used to live in western Hanover County, has been purchasing jewelry from Wagner Jewellers for the past nine years.

"The fact that I fly in from Texas to have my jewelry made says something about Wagner Jewellers," Ligon said. "The women there are talented artisans and there're not many of those around. I know that anything they make will be unique."

Owners Susannah Wagner Merritt and Elizabeth Spahr, both registered British goldsmiths, opened the small jewelry shop at 107 Hanover Ave. in Ashland in 1981. The two met when they attended Virginia Commonwealth University.

"I made a ring the first week of class and sold it," said Merritt, who had started her academic degree at the University of Kansas, where she took a jewelry class. "Then I sold another ring at a jewelry show. I made enough money in class to buy a set of good tools and equipment. I still have them today."

Merritt left Kansas and attended VCU, but she eventually moved to Scotland, where she graduated from Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh in 1973. She opened her first store -- Moonstone -- in Scotland.

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Spahr graduated with a degree in fine arts from VCU in 1972. She served as apprentice to master jeweler Haig Kambourian Sr., until his retirement from his store in Richmond in early 1981. She worked at Schwarzschild Jewelers when she and Merritt ran into each other once again at the International Gem and Mineral Show in Washington in 1981.

"We were excited to see each other again," Merritt said. "I had already leased the building in Ashland and I knew that it would be hard to run a one-man show."

The two now specialize in custom jewelry design, even though they display custom and manufactured jewelry in their small shop.

The shop is as eclectic as the selection of merchandise.

Two of the glass jewelry cases sit atop antique tables -- one of which belonged to Merritt's great-grandmother.

A larger case contains a miniature train that rolls past an assortment of bracelets, necklaces and rings. The main counter sits in front of a piece of art titled "Wings of Creation," crafted by Spahr's husband, who is an architectural designer.

"We make art jewelry," Merritt said. "We draw the pieces for our clients and design for each individual person."

Ligon had brought in a 1-karat solitaire diamond that she had purchased 25 years ago to have it redesigned.

Merritt designed a free-form ring, adding three 1-karat diamonds -- a pear-shaped, a marquis and a brilliant cut -- to the existing solitaire. She accented the ring with smaller diamonds.

"It looks like the ring was made that way," Ligon said. "It doesn't look like anything was added. Susannah and Elizabeth have wonderful ideas."

Spahr enjoys turning pictures of jewelry into reality.

"There's always magic in that," she said. "I like the energy that fuels the creative flow."

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Since opening the shop, business has doubled.

"We've built our business by word of mouth," Merritt said. "Ninety-five percent of our work is personal jewelry."

Many customers travel to the shop from Washington, Virginia Beach and Norfolk.

"Our first client at the store came from Florida," Merritt said. "We made a custom piece for the couple."

The owners purchase gems from around the world, from Australian opals to carved tourmalines from South America.

Craig Prince, a diamond, precious stone and pearl dealer in New York, has been selling to Merritt and Spahr more than 12 years.

"Susannah and Elizabeth are very knowledgeable," he said. "They are creative, capable and honest."

Prince was so taken by their work that he asked them to design a pin for his wife.

"My wife loves seagulls so they made the seagull and placed a diamond that I provided in his mouth," Prince said. "I have my own factory and can manufacture what I want to. They created this piece better than the people that work for me. They really know what they are doing."

Their designs are wide ranging and include everything from a baby's first tooth set into a ring to elaborate processional maces for several Virginia colleges.

One of Spahr's favorite pieces is a turtle bracelet. Each link is a different sea turtle colored with diamonds and textured for realism. Baby turtles made of opals separate the links.

"I worked on that for over a year," Spahr said. "Each piece can take from two weeks to a year to design and build."

Janet Bachmann of Montpelier has had the owners design 10 pieces of jewelry.

One of her favorite pieces is a pendant that has been passed down from family member to family member on their wedding day. The pendant has a freshwater pearl that is surrounded by laced gold.

"At each wedding, a diamond is placed to the right side along with the birthstone of the bride," Bachmann said.

"They listen to what I want. They give you exactly what you are looking for and it's something that will be the talk of the town."