C & C Sutlery supplied hundreds of items to the Tarantino movie’s production

Movie and TV orders augment C & C’s regular business from Civil War re-enactors

Kurt Russell, left, and Samuel L. Jackson in “The Hateful Eight.”

An Emmett company provided many items of clothing for the production, but the owner said he generally can’t tell from the finished product which items came from his company. Samuel L. Jackson in “The Hateful Eight.” C & C Sutlery co-owners and spouses Charles Lox, and Ellen Knapp
BY ZACH KYLE
zkyle@idahostatesman.com

Most of the online orders for Civil War-era replica clothing and gear received by C & C Sutlery in Emmett come from Civil War re-enactors or museums and parks looking to outfit mannequins in Civil War exhibits.

But once in a while, owner Charles Lox receives orders from a different kind of deep-pocketed customer: costume and props teams for movies such as “The Hateful Eight,” auteur Quentin Tarantino’s blockbuster Western opening today across the Treasure Valley.

Samuel L. Jackson plays a bounty hunter who claims to be a sheriff in “The Hateful Eight.” Kurt Russell plays a bounty hunter named John “The Hangman” Ruth in”The Hateful Eight.”

When movie production crews call, they generally clean out Lox’s shelves, provided he can ship the orders next-day air.

“If we can get it to them, they’ll take it all,” Lox said. “They are always in a hurry.”

In the film, a motley mix of eight dangerous characters hole up in a small Wyoming town during a blizzard following the Civil War. Kurt Russell plays a bounty hunter transporting a fugitive played by Jennifer Jason Leigh. Samuel L. Jackson also plays a bounty hunter.

Lox said his business shipped hundreds of garments, including shell coats, pants and belts, to “The Hateful Eight” set in Telluride, Colo., as well as cartridge boxes and other props.

Lox said he usually can’t tell which garments worn by actors in movies came from his shop.

“When you look at the movie, you might not recognize our merchandise because they really dirty it up,” Lox said. “And after that they probably throw it away.”

Lox was a Civil War re-enactor when he started the company in 1976 while living in Champaign, Ill. He was an avid Civil War re-enactor in those days, and he started supplementing the income he earned selling industrial supplies by setting up a tent at re-enacted battles full of Civil War clothing and replicas.

Lox didn’t focus on sutlery full-time until he moved to Emmett in the mid 1990s. The Internet was just coming online as a retail outlet, allowing Lox to fill orders rather than sell at events. Today, he co-owns the business with his wife, Ellen Knapp. They employ two part-time workers and contract sewing work to five seamstresses in Emmett, Middleton and Boise.