WE ARE LARP SUPPLIES

For the non-LARPers (the short version):

Ant and Alex Preece are a married couple in the North East of England who started a prop making business with the support of their wonderful parents - John and June and Neil and Naomi - in 2017 and are thoroughly enjoying themselves. Alex started LARP as a teenager with her best friend Deb in 2003 - her background is history, heritage and pastoral support. Ant started larping as a kid with his family in 1994 - his background is construction, catering and event management.

​

For the LARPers (the long version - you should know better than to ask for a back story!):

Ant started larping with his big brother Rob when he was 11 in the Bears faction at The Lorien Trust, before starting in the Fir Cruthen faction at Curious Pastimes in 1996. Alex met Ant in a weapons practice in their home town of Wolverhampton prior to her first roleplay event when she was 17. She was most of the way through A-levels and preparing to study History at the University of Birmingham. She didn’t understand what she was committing to and thought it was going to be like re-enactment, but she loved larping and was instantly hooked.

​

Ant took on responsibility as part of the command team for the Fir Cruthen in 2007, a position he continues to hold, and has worked hard to serve the faction and CP over the years with his fellow command members, Graham, Steve, Paul, Nick, George and now James. Alex took on a faction ref position, and it is very important to both of them that they continue to contribute to the most excellent community to which they belong. The Fir Cruthen faction is very much their second family and they have enjoyed running faction events and helping with faction banquets with Emma, Fiona, Julie, Kevin and Holly.

​

Ant and Alex were married in 2010. Together they started crewing CP faction events and attending different types of games. They crewed at Dumnoni in Devon, and the ‘Alone’ Alien style events run by Mandala, once in the former nuclear bunker at Drakelow Tunnels. The intense Sci-fi environment of ‘Alone’ was a catalyst for Alex’s love of sci-fi and she quickly became, and still is, obsessed. They went to Germany in 2014 to attend Conquest of Mythodea with Cabots Company. That event was a game changer and got them thinking about how to make money from their hobby so they could spend more time exploring and enjoying events. In 2016 they started what would become LARP Supplies in the spare room of their flat, and began test trading at Curious Pastimes in 2017. They began attending conventions and the LARP awards, have been nominated in several categories, and Alex won NPC of the year in 2019.

​

Everything was going well until 2020, when things got difficult for everyone. Alex remembers stitting in the hotel at one of the LARP conventions early in the year, speaking to her mum on the phone about the first confirmed case of Covid being admitted to the RVI hospital in Newcastle. She tried to reassure her that it would be fine, but turned out, as usual, mum was right. Their last event before lockdown was a banquet in the amazing setting of ‘Carmoa’, a fantasy pirate game written and run by the lovely Thea Dowler and her brilliant team. Then, events were cancelled, but LARP Supplies was fortunate to continue to do business as the LARP community rallied around to support each other.

​

Ant made the most of the down time and began a degree in Visual Effects & Model Making at the Northern School of Art, Alma Mata of Ridley Scott, which, at the time of writing he has just completed. Since we’ve all been allowed out to play again, they’ve been to another ‘Alone’ event run by Flowstate at Leicester prison, and the ‘Jacobite’ parlour larps run by Mark and Nicole at the iconic Treowen. Their friends Charlotte and Beth have enjoyed great success with their Tithing events, and they are looking forward to attending the Gritlands post apocalyptic events.

.

They are now regulars playing and trading at Curious Pastimes, Empire, Carmoa and Ragnarok, as well as the conventions - What’s Your Game held in Gloucester, and LARPCon near Leicester. The LARP trading community has been wonderfully welcoming and supportive and they’ve made a lot of new friends.

They look forward to more adventures together.

 

Photo below taken at the Pass of Killiekrankie in Scotland