:: About me:
My name is Alex, and I'm from Portugal. And yes, I'm actually bald, and proudly so!
I have a degree on Industrial Design, but due to options we all have in life, I came to France in 2012, and after 10 years as a graphic designer essentially in my home country, that career was almost left behind. I have done some graphic projects for friends since, but mostly I use that knowledge now to help me sell my projects. At the same time, I was tired of seeing that my work was helping to "pollute", visually, the city and my environment with images that led people to buy, buy, and buy again. Don't get me wrong, I love graphic design, but I hate the appeal made to consumers to buy without even questioning if they need something or not.
In 2013 I started selling relic guitars for someone I knew then, a good friend of mine in the United Kingdom. Great work! Later on, I told myself, "Why don't I do it myself?". Easier said than done.
By December 2015 I did my first relic project (in fact, my first attempt was made some years ago, but we're going to leave that aside). This one right here sold though, weird... The second project turned out better, and it sold too, and things began, step by step, to go forward.
I started doing it on poly-finished guitars, mostly used, low price, good deals. You can see my evolution, some other projects, and my personal guitars too at my first blog: https://mxkt-guitars.blogspot.com
I realized soon that I wanted more than just occasional projects; my body lives in the 21st century, but my heart rests attached to the golden decades of the 50s and 60s, before I was even born, in a country where I've never been so far, but it feels like home when I think of it. I also felt the need to create a new blog where I could show my work and passion, Baldman Guitar Relics.
After several months of struggling between my day job and my passion, I finally quit my day job, or at least one of them, in 2019 to move with my wife to a place we bought. It was a huge life change, although we're just 15 minutes from where it all started. The change was more inside my head than anything else.
So, as long as the Lord allows me to have a breath of life, I will try to do my best, for His glory, for my pleasure, and for yours too, I hope.
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31
:: Custom orders?
Not really, sorry.
I have two main reasons; the first and most important is that I chose to do relic work because I want to wake up each morning loving my job, and the second is that custom orders stress me; everyone has an idea of pictures he has seen, which is perfectly normal; others want special features or replicas
That said, here and there I do stuff based on what a client asks me, if I have the parts in stock or if I like the idea, and only if I consider it saleable in case he doesn't like the result, but I will not assume any kind of commitment or accept payment in advance. In the end, if the client likes it, great; if he doesn't, I will put it on sale and move on, and we will continue to be friends forever and ever more :)
:: DISCLAIMER / BEWARE! ::
It doesn't happen a lot, but I have already found pictures of my work selling on websites that I didn't even know existed without my permission. If you saw my work selling on weird websites or non-secured platforms, please write me! Unfortunately, the internet is not as safe as we wish it would be, so don't go out buying or sending money if you have a doubt that it's not me you're talking to. If someone tells you that he's a retailer or something similar, don't trust that information without asking me if it's true.
God bless you, and be a blessing for others yourself.
The Baldman