Andy came to paper engineering from a background as a tinkerer and repairer of antique record players, radios, automobiles and other mechanical and electrical devices. He is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Paul Zelinsky's collaboration with Andy was trans-continental-- a monumental effort, involving many hundreds of hours of telephone calls, a similar number of e-mails, and a considerable amount of overnight shipping. The collaborators started and finished their work on Knick-Knack Paddywhack! without once meeting face-to-face.

However, both continued their involvement in the project to the point of overseeing its printing and assembly. It was in the city of Shenzhen, China, where the two met for the first time.