Szontagh, Aranka (1858 - 1950)

With her sister, Erzsébet, she introduced - in 1905 in Csetnek - a new kind of handicraft, crocheted lace-work. Following the example of Guipure in Ireland, the designer of the crocheted lacework was Aranka Szontagh, a graduate of the Budapest School of Artistic Drawing, while the production management and distribution was performed by Erzsébet Szontagh, who died at an early age (in 1917). Their crocheted lacework was first shown to the public at the 1905 Christmas Exhibition at the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts. The next year similar lacework was crocheted outside of Csetnek - in Budapest, Kecskemét and numerous small settlements. As a result of the Tulip Movement, their Hungarian-style patterns became even more popular. The Szontagh sisters opened a shop in the centre of Budapest in 1911, and also exported their products. Following the First World War, the attempt to be fashionable had a negative effect on the Halas lacework, since their decision to use more patterns meant that their products lost their special character.