Mads Colvin

The adventures of a medieval creative director. I hate the sun but like swords, based in Melbourne, Australia but found everywhere. Get in touch if you have a cool idea for a collab or need to hire a stylist with a medieval touch. LARP, HEMA, Reenactment (XIV), Costuming... whatever I can get my hands on, really.

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A flatlay of the gear I was wearing to Swordcraft this week.

Spring steel blues breastplate - a lightweight 15th century inspired piece of chest protection.

Mail standard - slightly padded under the riveted mail rings, this is for neck protection.

Striped joined hose - 15th century pants made from wool.

Red linen shirt - a slightly fantasy inspired base layer made from 100% flax linen.

14th century belt with a pewter buckle and fittings, made by myself.

15th century reproduction kidney pouch

Fantasy leather covered water bottle I bought in Quebec

ArmStreet forest boots.

Not pictured: open early 15ty century inspired archer’s sallet, green silk noil livery coat, leather fencing gloves, bow, quiver and arrows.

Join me on Instagram for more updates!

Mads Colvin / Sun And Swords (@madscolvin) • Instagram photos and videos

28.1k Followers, 871 Posts. 🗡 Medieval armor, clothing and weapon specialist🛡 Creative Director, stylist, designer 🏹Has good cats 🐈 Melbourn

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A handsome young 15th century inspired LARP lad with a pike.

Hat, pourpoint - Historic Enterprises

Boots, gloves: ArmStreet

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Another rendition of Dark Ages inspired LARP kit for Swordcraft. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to lead of squad of women on shieldmaiden night as a guest leader.

Hood, tunic, pants, shoes:

ArmStreet medieval store - your best place to buy medieval dress, renaissance costume or knight armor. Here you can purchase original ArmStr

Lamellar armor - made by me!

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Viking aesthetic, as styled by me. It’s all so COMFORTABLE!

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It’s been a good couple of weeks at Swordcraft! It’s finally cooling down so I’ve been able to armour up. I busted out the mail for the first time since last winter and it looks lit 🔥

Currently testing out the design of this new leg harness, which I’ve found some functional flaws in but it looks great 👌

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Just got back from an amazing week of Swordcraft Quest here in Victoria, Australia. Couldn’t be prouder and more happy with the event.

After an excellent week of roleplay, I had the honour of commanding our aggressive flank in the final battle, leading to victory!

Already planning for next Quest.

Boots, armor: ArmStreet

Spurs, standard: MakeYourOwnMedieval

Livery Collar: Armor and Castings

Shield, plaque belt, everything else: me, Sun and Swords.

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15th century joined hose! They weren’t the easiest thing to make, but they were worth it. They are for my new character, “Geraldine”, for my new Swordcraft warband, “The Hounds”. They are made from 100% boiled wool and navy in color.

To state the obvious, I am not the same size as the average man, so I had to create my own pattern for these. It took a fair amount of time, a lot of calico, and a lot of mistakes. I am very happy with the result, though!

Joined hose are basically 15th-century pants - they’ve come a bit further than 14th-century braies and hose, and actually cover your bum, which is nice (I was getting pretty sick of having a cold backside at Quest!). 

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My LARP group recently went along to the Melbourne LARP Gala, an event hosted by some wonderful people in the community to raise funds for a great cause, Beyond Blue. Beyond Blue is Australia’s leading support network for those struggling with anxiety and depression, which is a cause that’s close to my heart. It was a fantastic night of dinner, dancing, and fun with all of the other attendees! It was also refreshing to get out of our LARP costumes and into modern finery. It’s probably a bit of a shock for people to see!

If you live in Melbourne, I highly encourage you to come along next year - you won’t be disappointed! If you’re not in Melbourne, I’d recommend talking to others in your community and seeing if anyone is interested in organising something similar to raise money for a great cause.

Thank you Portrait Photography Melbourne and The Professional Hobbyist for the photos!

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Twitch

Twitch is the world's leading video platform and community for gamers.

I’m talking about Swordcraft Quest, our local LARP event, with a group of other warband leaders! The stream starts 15 minutes after this post so tune in if you’re interested in our LARP events in Australia and want to know what it’s like to lead a group.

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Hello my beautiful, neglected tumblr friends! Sorry for radio silence - lots of travel followed by surgery and painful recovery have kind of dominated my life recently, which has meant no LARPing, sword fighting, or ANY exercise (help me 🙃). Not to mention trying to get my life together and make all of my work deadlines 😂 does it ever stop?

Here are some behind-the-scenes shots of the photoshoot I did with ArmStreet. I still haven’t seen any of the results from the photoshoot, but I promise I’ll share them when I see them!

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PENNSIC IS COMING! 

As some of you know, I have a lot of feelings about Pennsic. 

Like, a lot. And I’m SO excited. I can’t wait to settle into that busy chaos that makes my head silent. I can’t wait to see the mist on the lake, in the morning, and hear the beat of the drums at night. 

I am ready.

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Walking around at Swordcraft, being a derp. I’m carrying a handful of yellow sashes, which show which side we’re on (each night there is a side with and without sashes). 

In this, I’m dressed as my man-at-arms-type character, Willy. 

Gambeson, breastplate: Sun and Swords + ArmStreet Padded chausses, hood, scabbard/ belt: Sun and Swords Mace: Calimacil Photographer: Snap Happy Ian

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Solving our marital issues with swords! Can’t wait to see how this photo actually turns out. 

(I’d rather do the whole sack of rocks and him in a pit in the ground thing, but it’ll do it.)

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Ready to fiiiiight. Honestly, I can’t thank ArmStreet enough - I didn’t bring any of the fencing stuff with me (completely forgot about the whole Pennsic thing when I was packing my bags for Ukraine... oops...), and they put together some basic kit in less than a week!! I am so lucky to have such a kind, thoughtful employer. 

Also, these are the first gloves EVER that actually properly fit my tiny hands! So, so happy. Here’s what I’m wearing because someone will inevitably ask!

Gloves: Padded Fencing Gloves Gorget: Errant Squire Gorget - super basic stainless steel gorget.  Gambeson: Kingmaker Gambeson - a two-part gambeson that separates the arms from the vest, meaning that when I have a leg harness attached to it, the suspension of it won’t be affected when I raise my arms. 

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A photo taken of our Chesterwick LARP camp setup at Swordcraft, Quest. We always put a ton of effort into our camps at Quest and couldn’t be happier with how magical it looks at night!

Photo by Larparoo .

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I have to say, ArmStreet photoshoots are a whole new experience! After 2.5 years of working for them (I work in marketing/ content), I’m finally getting up close and personal and seeing how things work. Once you’re here, it’s easy to see how the sheer quality of everything is upheld to such a high standard. It’s amazing. I’m currently in day two of our four day photoshoot, and I’m exhausted but excited – Ukraine is an amazing place and I love the people I work with!

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Probably one of my favorite looks from the last two years or so. Super, super simple and comfortable, and really easy to do archery in!! This is my usual Swordcraft character, Cecilia, Duchess of Chesterwick.  Basically, it’s an underdress, an overdress, a breastplate and a hood! The profile of it all ends up coming across as quite 14th century (early), while still remaining fantasy and LARP appropriate. 

Model: Sun and Swords Photography: Tony Delov

Hood, belt, scabbard: Sun and Swords Underdress: ArmStreet Overdress: ArmStreet Pouch: ArmStreet Boots: ArmStreet Breastplate: Sun and Swords + ArmStreet