Miles Bellamy is giving his lifelong love of books new focus in Andes.
The 61-year-old launched Diamond Hollow Books in October 2021. At the time, he said, the shop included his wife’s eastern healing practice, though since relocating to his 11 Delaware Ave., Andes location, Diamond Hollow is exclusively books.
“I had a bookstore in Brooklyn for more than 20 years on a very busy, famous street in Williamsburg,” he said. Bellamy’s previous shop was Spoonbill & Sugartown Books, founded in 1999 on Bedford Avenue. “But, before that, I had also worked in bookstores and was interested in literature. In 2021, I decided I was done and moved upstate.”
The upstate iteration, Bellamy said, began online but was reimagined as a brick-and-mortar space.
“I buy and sell secondhand, rare books, and had just bought a library of more than 2,000 books (in 2021),” he said. “The intention was to put them on the internet and be an online bookseller, but, one day, my wife and I were on Main Street in Andes and someone told us there might be a space for rent.”
That someone, Bellamy said, was Bill Hovard, who operates 354 Main in Otego.
“We walked up the stairs and introduced ourselves, and Bill said, ‘I’m leaving soon, and would you like this space?’ So, all of a sudden, our plans changed,” he said. “We offer new and used books, mostly in the humanities – literature, art and philosophy, but I have other things, like cookbooks and children’s books and books on film and nature. It’s not a general bookstore, where we have every subject. It’s more based on my own interests.”
Such varied inventory, Bellamy said, has generated a diverse customer base.
“There are a lot of artists and writers up here and a lot of chefs, so the response was really good,” he said. “At the old space, we had a lot of events – art exhibitions, readings, lectures – so the community got very involved, and when I say community, I mean the towns around and surrounding (Andes). So, there’s local people and people that visit from as far as Woodstock and Oneonta.
“I’m open year-round, but it’s party seasonal,” Bellamy continued. “The busy season is May through September, because a lot of people are here from out of town, neighboring states or New York City, so there’s a mix of full-timers and weekenders and vacationers. It’s picking up, and there’s a lot of new businesses (in Andes). We’ve been very happy.”
Bellamy said he hopes to expand Diamond Hollow’s offerings.
“My space now is smaller, and the majority of the space is taken up by a very large table full of books … but the art gallery next door, Leo Koenig, Inc., is this big, beautiful building that has a history going back 100 years of more,” he said. “And (Koenig) is going to let me do events in the big space adjacent to the store. The first event is a poetry reading with three women on (June) 24. Right now, I want to see how this summer goes, because we’re going to be really busy … but I will probably do more events in the fall.”
Regardless of business ebbs, Bellamy said, books have his heart.
“I have a passion for old books,” he said. “You don’t know who owned them, but they’re beautiful and they smell good. It’s just something in my blood. I like new books, too, but any bookseller can order a new book from the company. I buy other people’s books — used books from people who have moved or are dying or need to downsize — so, that’s what keeps me in it, is I just love books. I have ever since I was little. I don’t make a lot of money, but I do it because it’s what I do, and I like the people.”
To learn more, visit diamondhollowbooks.com or follow @diamondhollowbooks on Instagram.