Creative Director | Gontse Crisp

Gontse, the driving force behind Balatronstudio's market presence. As a key member of the team and partner to Jean, Gontse shares her insights on the brand's vision, inspiration, and growth. From its humble beginnings to its ambitious plans for global domination, Balatron's story is one of passion and creativity.

I am a student of life originally from Kimberly, I was raised in Pretoria and have lived most of life all over 012. I joined Balatronstudio as a transition from modeling into actually working on the brand with my now best friend and business partner. After a couple of sit down talks we realised that we shared a similar ethos and vision.

The main inspiration behind Balatron is Jean and I. We’ve introduced more people to the team and they also bring their own inspiration. Photographers, Mbulelo and Zamani bring their unique perspectives and styles. Every brand has a parent brand and its not hard for people to tell what ours is, we draw inspiration from various sources. Our core pillars are what ultimately distinguish us and guide our creative process.

What else do you get into when you’re not working; your hobbies, other forms of expression that you tap into?

For me, everything revolves around Balatron. What others might consider hobbies or side projects are all tied to the brand's mission and our current obsessions. These passions often find their way into our collections, blurring the lines between work and play.

You’re the “marketing manager” at Balatron—what does that entail exactly? 

Being the marketing manager of the brand isn’t something I decided to do, like I said I'm a student of the game. It came naturally over time as people would try and pin a face to Balatron and that face was me. So, I understood I basically have to get the brand to people and places that align with us and what we do. Otherwise, a lot of things done at Balatron are co-decided by both Jean and I.

Whats one challenge that you as the marketing director consistently encounter in running Balatronstudio, and how do you overcome it?

The biggest challenge in terms of marketing Balatron is the noise really. They tell you need to be outside networking, meeting new people and that's just been draining on me because the 'fashion' is the most important part to me, but you just have to tough it up and face the challenges!

Where do you see the future of Balatronstudio, any upcoming projects you’d like to plug?

We are trying to dominate Africa, then the globe. From the moment all this started Paris has been the dream, and for future projects, yes of course, there's been a delayed collection we’ve been working on that will be with you guys within a couple of weeks and it will be followed by pop ups. Our goal is to grow our community.

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