Meet Miranda Culp | Co-Owner, Amatoria Fine Art Books

We had the good fortune of connecting with Miranda Culp and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Miranda, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
Used bookstores occupy a unique position in the marketplace because they meet consumer need in several critical ways. A used bookstore helps customers build their collection and also helps them deaccession. The service of buying books from the public is just as important as selling, because these are often the rare, out-of-print, and hard-to-get books that our customers and collectors really want. As a result, the conversations and the culture of a bookstore are very distinct features. Because we deal in fine art, we interact directly with the designers and artists who are informing and influencing our local culture.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Please add a section into this piece about my partner, Laurelin Gilmore.

Laurelin Gilmore is an artist and writer with a background in library science. She grew up in the Bay Area and has called Sacramento home for the last 20+ years. Her work is both representational and fantastic, often combining portraiture with natural elements rich with symbolism and storytelling.

Miranda: I’m a writer and editor who grew up in Southern California. My jam is primarily fiction, although I’ve done some local history and social justice-oriented journalism. I have worked in bookstores on and off for much of my life, but I never considered owning one. When Laurelin and I took over this store with a 40-year legacy in Sacramento, it was a true leap of faith: opening a bookstore? During Covid? Come on. But I like to tell people that this store had no intention of closing.

It has been a struggle; we are situated in a residential neighborhood and the store had largely fallen off the community’s radar. We’re both working artists with families and the list of pressing needs is long. But how many bookstores do you know with an entire wall of monographs or a whole case of Japanese art? We have books on the shelf that don’t exist anywhere else, and more keep showing up all the time. We want the community to know that if you want special stores like this to thrive, you have to shop there, bring your books there, and attend events. It’s a very easy way to support local culture on a budget. If you love that book, just buy it. You will not regret it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, certainly our store! Sacramento has one of the richest, most ethnically diverse food cultures in the state, so we like to take out-of-towners to Jimmy’s Soul Food and Hmong Cuisine or Queen Sheba for Ethiopian. There’s always the riverfront for tourist Gold Rush-era fun, but the delta just south of Sacramento is a a great place to explore and go wine tasting.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We wouldn’t be in business without Lawrence Hammar of Structure, Verse, Agency Books in Spray Oregon. Lawrence diligently mentored us in the used book business when we first took the plunge, and he continues to offer us his sage counsel and put opportunities in front of us that have helped our business enormously.

Website: https://amatoriafineartbooks.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amatoria_fine_art_books/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amatoriafineartbooks

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/amatoria-fine-art-books-sacramento