Meet Amy Layo | Cottage baker

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

Hi Amy, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I started my career as a Radiologic Technologist in 1995. In 2025 I had hit 30 years with my career in the healthcare industry. I spent the last 22 years working as a vendor representative which required weekly travel doing clinical implementation of equipment. My mind needed to balance the technical aspect of my life with something creative. Several years ago I started watching You Tube videos and learned how to knit. Taking a project with me on the road gave me something productive to do while living in a hotel week after week. I started applying to local vendor markets selling my little knits and ended up finding a network of talented people that I was proud to be a small part of.

In 2024 I added baking to my existing business. Learning the process for baking bread did not happen overnight but it was very satisfying when I baked my first successful loaf of sourdough bread. I certainly had plenty of failed attempts. The failed loaves always taught me something!

Since January I have been working on building my business full time selling at a local farmers market, pop up market events and in store.

What should our readers know about your business?
As I’m still new and building up my business I am always trying to streamline processes to be more efficient. Utilizing all of the resources available to help with the business side has been a huge benefit. Being a sole proprietor can sometimes feel overwhelming but I have a lot of support from friends who also run their own businesses.

Starting small and maintaining a good work/life balance is important to me.
I think the biggest lesson I have learned is to not overextend myself. As a new business, it’s difficult to decline any opportunity that comes your way. I always want my products to be the best possible quality. Finding the balance point where I am operating at a sustainable and effective level is an ongoing process.

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.
(Honestly I don’t go out very much so I’m not a great guide)

I live in Senoia. Senoia is a charming small town with plenty of shopping and great restaurants. The farmers market on Saturday is full of amazing local vendors.

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?
The encouragement from my friends and family in the beginning stages of starting my business and making the leap to pursue it on a larger scale has been incredible. The people closest to me have been there to celebrate the successful days and pick me back up during the hard moments. Outside of my immediate circle, everyone who supports me during the markets are the real reason I am able to keep going.

Instagram: alayo_handcrafted