He traveled around the world with Christine Bluhm (his former boss at B. Dalton Bookseller), then spent two years touring with Child's Play Touring Theatre performing stories written by children. In 1985, Andy and Chris co-founded The Children's Bookstore. Their innovative special events won them the Women's National Book Association's 1987 Lucille Micheels Pannell Award. Over the next ten years they sold a million children's books, presented 2,000 free special events, and raised $300,000 for Chicago schools and non-profits.
The Children's Bookstore was forced out of business by book superstore chains in 1996, shortly after Andy and Chris had opened the nation's first privatized children's museum store at Chicago Children's Museum on Navy Pier.
In 1999 Andy co-founded PovertyFighters, a company designed to help underwrite thousands of micro-enterprises launched by very poor women around the world. PovertyFighters encompasses a click-to-donate website (http://www.povertyfighters.com), and an educational fundraising campaign (Oxfam America Collegiate Click Drive).
Children's Museum Store was supplanted in 2002 by a new museum store chain. Andy and Chris moved to Massachusetts to develop the bookshop at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Andy's newest project, with partner Rebecca Migdal, is Gonzo Comix and Tours