community
Full Cup Creatives
A community for creatives turning their craft into a business without burning out.
Join the communityi build creative businesses.
then i help creatives build theirs.
Engineer turned entrepreneur. I built and sold Namibia's largest wedding agency, run a creative agency from San Antonio, and now help artists, photographers, videographers and musicians turn their craft into a business that pays, without running on empty.
ex-engineer · built and sold Namibia's largest wedding agency · 10 years running creative businesses
i've worked with
what i build.
Ten years in engineering taught me how to build things that work. The last ten taught me how to build businesses around creative work. These are the ones I'm running now.
creative agency
Nifty Studio
Full-service agency for brands that need strategy, design, animation, video and web done properly.
Visit Nifty Studiomy art
Snorpixel
Illustration and character art for clients like DeviantArt and Topps Star Wars.
See the workthe book
Brand Builders
Ten experts. One shared vision. Infinite possibilities. A book on building brands, with SP van der Merwe as one of its contributors.
Buy on Amazonretro gaming
Nibbi
A pocket-sized retro console for playing games and making your own. Real hardware, a simple Lua environment, and a project built for the joy of creating.
Explore Nibbithe first one
Built and sold
A wedding photography agency that grew into Namibia's largest, and taught me that talent and a sustainable business are not the same thing.
the community
Join Full Cup CreativesNot sure where to start? Get a free foundations check →
talent is not the problem. the business around it is.
Join Full Cup CreativesNot sure where to start? Get a free foundations check →you're good. that was never the issue.
the leaky bucket
People see your work, like it, and then there's nowhere for them to go. No home, no email list, no easy way to pay you. Every post leaks.
the pricing guess
You pick a number, hope it's not too high, and quietly undercharge anyway. Nobody taught you how to price creative work, so you're making it up as you go.
the empty cup
The thing you used to do for joy now only happens when someone's paying. The business is eating the craft that started it.
book me to speak.
Practical, story-led talks for creative communities, teams and founders. Less theory, more things you can fix this week.
- turning your craft into a business
- digital foundations for creatives
- scope creep and finishing things
- reinvention after a technical career
- AI for creatives who don't trust AI
- storytelling for complex products
keynote · workshop · community session · virtual
Talks given: Playtopia Festival · Creatividad Querida, San Antonio
engineer, photographer, agency owner. then back to the sketchbook.
I trained as a mechanical engineer and spent a decade around mines, machines and problems where the answer had to work in the real world. On quiet shifts, I drew and wrote science fiction.
Wedding photography started as an experiment and grew into Namibia's largest wedding agency. I sold it after learning the hard way that talent and a sustainable business are not the same thing.
Then I built a creative agency, got busy, and stopped sketching. I didn't notice what it was doing to me until I nearly lost my head. Picking the pencil back up fixed more than I expected, and it changed how I build. The business has to protect the craft, not eat it.
Now I'm in San Antonio, running Nifty Studio, drawing as Snorpixel, building a few things for fun, and helping creatives build businesses that pay without running on empty.
brand builders.
ten experts. one shared vision. infinite possibilities.
In a world of endless choice and constant digital noise, having a great product or service is no longer enough. Businesses need to be seen, trusted and chosen.
Brand Builders brings together ten experienced professionals across marketing, sales, branding, leadership and customer experience — including SP van der Merwe.
Each contributor explores a different part of building visibility, earning trust, strengthening customer relationships and creating sustainable business growth.
fill your cup first. then go build.
Whether you want to join the community, book a talk or work with the studio, start here.