about Dr. Jackie Layton
Samwise to Creative Frodos
I tend to think of myself as your companion on a long and important journey. You are the heart of this story, but I'm here to offer help, support, care, and resources along the way.
You carry the vision, ideas, craft, and your mission in the world. And I want to live in the sort of world where the missions of heart-led, creative people succeed.
For those who appreciate the story beneath
The Story Beneath this Making
The philosophy behind Beneath the Making is one I've carried with me for a long time. As a kid, I found refuge in art and writing - and in the worlds created by makers. I carried notebooks, sketchpads, and books everywhere.
Making helped me work through what I was experiencing. And the work of other makers helped me feel connected to the world outside of the small one I started in.
Making was my first home.
Makers and making were a first home for me - a way that I felt connected to humanity even at my hardest points.
Psychology gave me a way to help.
I wanted to support fellow trauma survivors, and support people in finding joy, connection, meaning and possibility. So I earned my PhD in Counseling Psychology and have supported survivors, cycle-breakers, and others wanting to live more fully and deeply.
Entrepreneurship set me free.
At first, I worked wherever I was needed. And I loved it. I was leading a PTSD and substance use treatment program at a VA. Then I became pregnant with my eldest daughter Olivia. At that point, I decided to find a more emotionally sustainable way of working. Taking that leap mean so much more room for creativity, autonomy and possibility in how to help others live and work better through psychology.
Returning to makers
More and more of my clients were creatives and entrepreneurs. And they reminded me of what connects us all - making.
Going further
I saw so many ways we could go deeper. How we could lighten cognitive load, create conditions that support creativity, improve self-talk, explore identity, restore motivation, teach boundaries, and so many more possibilities.
I was seeing authors, designers, architects, photographers, producers, teachers and coaches for business owners and makers, and other creative business owners. We worked on writer's block, imposter syndrome, and worthiness wounds coming up in sales calls. We identified sources of stress and burnout and all sorts of strategies for working in values-aligned and sustainable ways. We worked on visibility, fear, perfectionism, capacity, and conditions that supported creativity.
The more I worked with these amazing, creative people, the more I saw how much was happening beneath the making.
why Creatives?
Creatives change what feels possible in the world
I've seen how creative agency owners can create the sort of work culture they wish they'd experienced earlier in their careers.
I've seen how people teaching, coaching, and mentoring fellow creative business owners can change how their mentees and students see themselves - and how they think about mental health and humanity under hustle culture.
A writer can put feelings into words so that someone in another time and place feels less alone.
A designer can make something meaningful. And more accessible.
A founder can create a workplace that treats people with kindness.
An artist can help us expand how we think about ourselves and the world.
I want to support the creative, heart-led people because that means supporting the people who help us imagine, connect, question, and create. They are the people who simply by making can help us build the sort of world we want to live in - and the sort of world I want my daughters to live in.
So I decided to build the thing I wanted to see. And that became Beneath the Making.
why we created it this way
Our Core Beliefs
Humanity is the Masterpiece
Beneath the Making exists because we believe that people matter more than what we produce. People are the reasons we make things in the first place. And to make is to be human.
Across history, people have used stories, music, images, design, performance, invention, and art to communicate, resist, grieve, celebrate, teach, organize, connect, and imagine different futures.
We believe that capacity - that practice of what it is to be human - is worth protecting.
We Care for Human Conditions.
We believe in caring for the human beneath the craft, because supported people are creative people.
Fear, scarcity, isolation, stress, overwork, and unhealthy systems can limit what we are able to imagine and create. We cannot solve every problem by trying to be more resilient, more productive, more confident or more efficient. Sometimes we need more support. And sometimes we need real environmental, social, and cultural change. We want to see creatives have sustainable work, fair pay, boundaries, rest, belonging, and healthy relationships.
Creativity Is Liberation.
We believe making is a form of agency. To make something is to say that the world does not have to stay exactly as it is. We can write different stories, imagine another future, build a healthier business or community, and give voice to what was once silenced.
We can inspire others, teach them to see differently, contribute to community, and participate in shaping the world rather than simply adapting to it. We believe creativity is a vessel for human possibility. Creating and making are acts of hope, power, and possibility.
We can create a craft you find joy in, a business you actually want to work in, and a life you actually want to live in.
We Stand Against Oppression.
We reject the idea that suffering is the price of meaningful work. We refuse to normalize the "starving artist," burnout, working for free, or sacrificing the human for the work.
We believe every person deserves dignity, safety, and the change to play, explore, and create.
And to be clear, we support and celebrate fellow LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, and BIPOC folks. We believe people are human regardless of documentation or immigration status. We believe all children in the world are children worth protecting. We stand against authoritarianism, dehumanization, and the systems and practices that diminish human dignity, creativity, or our capacity to flourish.