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Rug sale benefits creek photo by Drew Fleming By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � The Lithia Arts Guild is hosting a Persian rug auction Friday to work a little money magic for the Calle Guanajuato restoration project. The guild, which runs the summertime Lithia Artisans Market on the calle, hopes to find bidders for 100 imported rugs and raise $35,000 to help repave the alley that runs between Ashland Creek and Plaza businesses. More about the sale WHAT: A Persian Rug Auction, a benefit to repave Calle Guanajuato, sponsored by the nonprofit Lithia Arts Guild. WHEN: Friday, Nov. 10. A preview, including hors d�oeuvres and wine, will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Auction begins at 7 p.m. WHERE: Windmill Ashland Hills Inn ballroom. HOW MUCH: Auction is free. Preview tickets are $5. Free tickets are available in advance at the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, Cantwell�s Market, Lithia Stationers and Pilaf. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call Mahi, the auction�s organizer, at 488-1295. The creek and calle, named for Ashland�s Mexican sister city, were badly damaged during the 1997 New Year�s Day Flood. Crews have been working since summer to clean up the creek bed and protect the area from the ravages of future floods. The first phase of the project � which includes building floodwalls, reinforcing existing foundations and stabilizing the stream banks � is set to wrap up in mid-November, said Brandon Goldman, the assistant city planner heading up the project. Crews completed all in-stream work in September and are now working on the banks. They�re pouring floodwalls, adding guardrails, installing lighting and building a footbridge, Goldman said. The project�s second phase, he said, includes repaving the calle, landscaping, creating a small performance area on the creek�s west bank and building a staircase that connects to Granite Street. The second phase, however, has no funding. That�s a problem the Lithia Arts Guild is trying to solve. "There was only enough money to do the flood control work, not the aesthetic work," said Deanne Ragnell, chair of the guild�s Guanajuato Way Restoration Committee. While the first phase of the project will prove most important in the event of a flood, the beauty of the busy calle is especially important to the artisans who set up summertime shops there, Ragnell said. Paving, Ragnell said, will make a world of difference for the market and Plaza businesses that line the calle. "It will transform that back alley into a really sweet area," she said. That�s why the guild is hosting a Persian Rug Auction, which begins at 7 p.m. Friday. The Windmill Ashland Hills Inn donated its ballroom for the evening�s festivities. Twenty other businesses have donated food, wine and funds for the benefit. A preview of the 100 handcrafted rugs will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Tickets will be $5 at the door, but are available for free through Friday at the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, Cantwell�s Market, Lithia Stationers and Pilaf. The auction itself is free. Rug prices at the auction will begin at about $100. Most of the rugs � which range from small to runners to room-size � are expected to sell for less than $1,500, which is about half their typical retail value, said auction organizer Mahi, who doesn�t use a surname. "Even if people want to come just to see them, there�ll be a couple very fine rugs that are worth over $10,000," he added. Most of the rugs will be geometric "tribal" designs, made by nomads or village people. Tribal rugs are usually made by one person or a single family and can take months or years to weave, Mahi said. "Almost everyone on the West Coast likes them better," he said. About 30 of the rugs will be curvilinear "city" designs, made by small groups of craftspeople. The rugs are all imported from Persia, mostly Iran and a few from Turkey, Mahi said. They weren�t made using child labor or exploited workers, he added. "Iran has very strict labor rules," he said. The value of the rugs, Mahi said, is determined by size, age, knots per square inch and the uniqueness of design. "These are very beautiful rugs," Ragnell said. "They�re all one-of-a-kind. "It fits very nicely with what we (as artisans) do � it�s all handcrafted, it�s all handmade." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.