Meet the Family
Layfette Books & Gifts is a family bookstore in every way. It is named for Amanda's parents, built by the two of us, shared with our daughter El, and waiting for the grandkids to find their place in it someday.
Amanda Hopper
Amanda is a professional librarian with more than twenty years of experience in libraries, nonprofits, and youth services. She holds an M.L.I.S. from the University of Kentucky and spent a decade in leadership at the Boone County Public Library — running youth services and outreach across the system, writing grants, and building partnerships with schools and community organizations across the region. She currently serves as Assistant Director at the Gallatin County Public Library. At Layfette, she leads collection curation and community partnerships.
James Hopper
James spent the past twenty-plus years building operational systems for large corporations and leading early-stage ventures. He brings that same mindset to Layfette, where he handles operations, inventory, financial planning, and the heavier reading recommendations.
El Hopper
El is a serious reader and a careful thinker — and the person we hope will one day inherit Layfette. She helps at the popups, and shares the dream of growing the shop into something she'd eventually make her own.
Miller
Miller is our brand companion, named in honor of Amanda's family. He has a good nose for stories — especially the kind that grow a little taller each time they're told. Gentle, loyal, and quietly observant, he loves children, porch conversations, playful ideas, and books that bring people together.
The Layfette Name
The bookstore's name comes from Amanda's father, Roy Layfette Miller II. We chose it to honor her parents — Dorothy, who instilled Amanda's love of literature, and Roy, who taught her that play and creativity matter as much as study. Both shaped the values Layfette is built on: literature and learning, play and creativity, and books made to be shared.
The unusual spelling is itself a small story. Roy grew up believing his middle name was Lafayette — the conventional spelling. Years later, after receiving a copy of his birth certificate, he discovered it had been Layfette all along. We kept the spelling because it's true to him, and because it invites a second look — which, in our experience, is how the best books get found.
Our Roots in the Region
We've made our home in Boone County for many years. Our daughters grew up here. Our grandkids are growing up here. And much of our working life has happened in this same community — Amanda's career in the Boone County and Gallatin County public library systems, James's leadership work locally and nationally, and the chamber roles, community boards, school partnerships, and church involvement we've held over the past two decades.
Layfette isn't a project we're starting in Northern Kentucky. It's a project we're starting at home.
Where We’re Heading
Layfette is in its popup phase. We're at vendor markets, neighborhood events, small business popups, and community gatherings. We are listening, learning, and building toward a permanent independent bookstore in Northern Kentucky. The popup is how we get there. The bookstore is what we're building.