We Love our people
Meet the owner
Mandy Powell
Owner
Born and raised in Oklahoma, Mandy’s favorite early childhood books were “Try Again, Sally!” and “Cindy Bakes a Funny Cake.” Not yet realizing baking was her passion, she attended the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tennessee, followed by a career in the medical field for several years. After her twin daughters were born, she left her career as a clinical educator for a medical device company to be a stay-at-home mom. At the age of 50, Mandy followed her dreams by going to culinary school and specializing in the art of pastry. Laurel & Pearl was born, and the rest is history! When not baking, Mandy stays busy with her husband, five daughters, and two dogs, including Pippa the Frenchie.
meet our team
Baylee Riley
Lead Overnight
Baylee was born in Plano, Texas, and lived in several different places growing up. She finally found her way to Lindale when she was a junior in high school. She decided to stay close to home for college and went to TJC. She first got her certification in sign language. But she wanted more and loves to bake, so she continued her education and received her degree in Culinary Arts with an emphasis in pastry.
She has two brothers and one sister, and they encouraged her the whole way. Family means a lot to Baylee, so in her spare time you can find her in the kitchen experimenting with recipes with her mom or playing with her nieces. She also enjoys spending time with her Maltese Buff. Her favorite thing to bake is cookies and bars.
AnnaBeth Bottoms
Baker/Decorator
AnnaBeth was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and moved to Tyler for college. She is a Dental Hygiene student at TJC. She is the second oldest of five siblings.
In her spare time, AnnaBeth loves baking, running, and hanging out and making meals with friends. Her favorite meal to make is pesto pasta and sourdough bread. She has her own sourdough starter and grows her own basil for the pesto.
Her favorite thing to bake are macarons because the flavor and color options are endless! We are happy to have her on our team mixing dough and making macarons at Laurel & Pearl!
Diana Pineda
Lead Pâtisserie
Meet Diana our Macaron Baker Magnifique and Lead Pâtisserie.
Originally from California, Diana has lived in Tyler since 2012. She took coursework to be a vet tech in high school but decided to change course in college. In the fall of 2019, Diana was accepted as a student in the new TJC Culinary Arts program where she finally found her niche. It was there that she met Mandy, owner of Laurel & Pearl. Diana has fun baking and loves the feeling of making others happy with what she makes.
If you‘ve ever had our macarons or cream puffs, Diana is the one who takes on the challenge of making these finicky but delectable treats!
In her role as Lead Pâtisserie, Diana oversees production and quality control of all of the sweet items on our menu.
As someone with high-functioning autism, Diana finds it challenging to meet and talk with new people, but we’re sure when you meet her you will love her like we do!
When not baking, Diana enjoys video games, K-Pop, and hanging out with friends. Fun fact about Diana, she is completely infatuated with Joker from Persona 5!
Toni Lamb
Lunch Prep
Being in a military family, Toni was born in Munich, Germany. She lived in many different states (and countries) until her family settled in Oklahoma when she was in Junior High. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years before getting her BS Nursing degree in her forties! She practiced Labor and Delivery and Mother-Baby until her retirement in 2013.
Toni has two daughters (one being Mandy … owner of Laurel & Pearl), and one son in heaven. She has one younger sister, an older sister-in-love, and 8 grandchildren. She likes sewing, singing in her church choir, and hanging out with friends.
Her favorite things to bake are homemade brownies and Gigi’s Chocolate Cake (Gigi is her mom and the fame behind our Gigi’s Babycakes).
Known by her grandkids and around the bakery as “T,” she helps with all the prepping at the bakery, including our infamous Marinated Cheese and Whipped Feta.
Addy Powell
Sales/Coffee/Kitchen Assistant
Addy was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and moved to the United States at the age of 4 to be a part of her forever family. They moved to Tyler in 2014.
Even though she’s just in 9th grade, she already knows she wants to go to either Belmont for fashion design or musical theater – or go to Oklahoma for musical theater or meteorology. What a combo!
Addy loves animals and has four cats and two dogs. She would have more if her parents would let her. She has four sisters, and she is number 3 – sandwiched right in the middle.
Her favorite things to do in her spare time are watching “Dance Moms” and crocheting. Her favorite desserts are apple pie and chocolate chess pie.
Caroline Holman
Barista/Sales
Caroline was born in Columbia, Missouri, and moved to East Texas when she was just a few months old. She’s a sophomore at Tyler Legacy High School and hasn’t decided where she wants to go to college yet.
Caroline has an older sister, a younger brother, and a dog named Riley whom she got during the COVID pandemic.
She likes to crochet and knit in her free time, and her favorite things to bake are apple turnovers.
Join Our Team
Join our team
See positionsThis could be you...
Jamie McCullough
Day Team Lead/Cake Decorator
Jamie has been a Texan her whole life, born in Austin and raised in Bullard. She is the third of four siblings. She currently has an orange tabby named Mango and a German shepherd/blue heeled named Copper. She loves reading and baking in her spare time. She met Mandy, owner of Laurel & Pearl, through culinary school at TJC.
She is a close-knit family girl who loves spending time at home with her husband and going to see her family. And speaking of family… Jamie is expecting her first baby in 2024! Her favorite Laurel & Pearl bakery item is the Caramel Apple Pie Frenchie. We are so happy she joined our team!
Mikaela Seagren
Lead Boulangerie
Meet Mikaela, our new Lead Boulangerie! She is the magic behind our focaccia, housemade crackers, and laminated doughs (aka Frenchies, Croissants, and Queens).
Born in Michigan, Mikaela moved around growing up before moving to Texas in 2009. Mikaela was pursuing a degree in biology at Texas A&M when she met her husband, Brandon, in 2018. They got married and decided to start their new journey together in Tyler, Texas and we are so glad they did!
Mikaela is mom to two very spoiled cats. In her spare time she enjoys making artwork, but her passion is to be in the kitchen baking. Her favorite thing to bake is croissants.
If you‘ve been to the bakery during the week, you’ve probably seen Mikaela in action behind the glass- mixing, rolling, or laminating dough.
As Lead Boulangerie, Mikaela oversees production and quality control of all of our dough and savory menu items.
Abigail Brockner
Lead Barista/Sales
Abby was born and raised in Houston, and was homeschooled all her life. She is the youngest of 6 siblings… 3 boys and 3 girls! Besides making amazing coffee drinks for our guests, Abby is also a makeup artist and aesthetician and loves doing wedding makeup for brides. A newlywed herself, Abby moved to Tyler to be closer to family and it has quickly become home to her. She loves to workout and all things sports, and has been playing volleyball and softball since she was 5 years old!
Sarah Bazzell
Barista/Sales
Sarah was born in Phoenix, AZ and lived there for the first ten years of her life until her family moved to Tyler in 2016. Her best friend and role model is her older sister, who attends college in Kentucky. Her other best buddy is Dax, a rescue dog and a yorkie poodle mix!
Sarah’s favorite hobbies are playing her guitar, ceramics, listening to music, and hanging out with friends. Her absolute favorite Laurel & Pearl items are the Blueberry Lemon Frenchie and the Almond Croissant!
