![\"ANDI](\"http:\/\/smithreports.com\/eatshopgo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/ANDI-AD20166-300x180.jpg\")
<\/a>Andrea Weinberg, the Andi of ANDI<\/a> New York, contemplates backpacks and other totes with the aesthetic of a fashion designer and the precision of an ergonomic engineer.<\/p>\nI meet Weinberg during New York Fashion Week, when the city is humming with previews of fall fashions. We get together at\u00a0Am\u00e9 Am\u00e9<\/a>, a hip boutique in the shadow of the Flatiron Building.<\/p>\n We head to an anteroom in the back of the shop, where a collection of ANDI bags are on display. The model who appears in ANDI ads is nibbling lunch at a table behind a vintage sofa one might find in a Paris apartment.<\/p>\n Weinberg says her bags are\u00a0designed for the way people live, with highly adaptable strapping and snaps so the totes can be configured for such tasks as carrying a yoga mat or attaching a set of keys. With a little rearranging, the tote is transformed into a featherweight, ergonomically friendly backback.<\/p>\n \u201cIt rests on the small of your back,\u201d she\u00a0notes.<\/p>\n The bags come in three different color ways. Silvery charcoal with goldtone hardware\u2014\u201cthe most feminine\u201d\u2014black\u2014\u201cfor New Yorkers\u201d\u2014and camouflage print revved with hot pink trim\u2014\u201cour edgiest bag.\u201d<\/p>\n She started making bags from a wilderness fabric she sourced from a supplier in Idaho. Her fabrics are now made in Taiwan. The bags are manufactured in two different shops, one in Brooklyn and one in New Jersey.<\/p>\n Weinberg\u00a0has accomplished a lot in what appear to be very few years.<\/p>\n \u201cHow old are you?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n \u201cGuess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c28?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c32!\u201d<\/p>\n An integral part of her journey as an entrepreneur was\u00a0a college business trip to China, where she understood she could have just about anything she wanted fabricated on the double. So she ordered a prototype of her first bag.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next day it was there for me,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI picked it up and I cried.\u201d<\/p>\n She is currently selling the bags online and in retail outlets affiliated\u00a0with spas, where she has attracted the attention of several\u00a0celebs.<\/p>\n \u201cTaye Diggs has bought a few,\u201d she says. \u201cPatti Stanger, the millionaire matchmaker, bought a camo.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s an affordable accessory. Prices top out at a suggested retail price of $188 for the large signature tote.<\/p>\n Weinberg and I try out a few bags. The model snaps our picture with my iPhone.<\/p>\n As I head back to the station, a group of British tourists in Herald Square ask me if I will take their picture, probably because I look least likely to run off with their camera.<\/p>\n “Would you like me to take your picture in front of Macy’s?” asks a friendly matron. “Your hat and scarf are smashing with the Macy’s red star.”<\/p>\n Of course. Thanks for asking. And off I go.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I carry a backpack the way more buttoned-down types tote a briefcase. It contains my laptop, iPad, mobile phone, sunglasses, reading glasses, wallet, a bottle of water and a couple granola bars. Andrea Weinberg, the Andi of ANDI New York, … Continue reading ![\"IMG_0813\"](\"http:\/\/smithreports.com\/eatshopgo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_0813-300x300.jpg\")
<\/a>I put down my trusty Red Cross backpack and pick up an ANDI bag. It lacks the padding that lines my backpack. But it is exceptionally light and after a day of lugging my mobile office around Manhattan it strikes me as a highly desirable tradeoff.<\/p>\n![\"IMG_0829\"](\"http:\/\/smithreports.com\/eatshopgo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_0829-189x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Weinberg does not have a design background, although her grandfather was a jeweler. She wears the delicate gold ring and Egyptian-inspired band he made for her mother. Like her designs, she is smart and approachable.<\/p>\n