Fandory Factory offers coworking spaces with childcare in Rancho Bernardo

At Fandory Factory, children play in a “town” created just for them, while their their parents work on computers nearby or chat with other parents just outside the fenced indoor playground.

The Rancho Bernardo business addresses many of the challenges faced by parents who are working from home.

“Before Fandory I was having a hard time finding reliable childcare, especially during the pandemic,” said Mary Dorsey, a health care auditor with 2-year-old twins, Eliora and Lelland. “This was a solution that allowed me to work while having access to my kids when they are so young.”

Dorsey, who works full-time from her Rancho Bernardo home, said she started bringing her then-1-year-old twins in early 2022 because she needed something to engage them while she worked.

Eliora and Lelland are now in an academic-based daycare, but Dorsey said she kept her Fandory membership so they can use the playground on Saturdays. She said she also likes the special events.

“The birthday parties are a nice option,” Dorsey said. “ I can tell they go all out.”

Fandory Factory is the brainchild of Mirela Sabanovic Lewis and her sister Aldisa Sabanovic. The Poway residents came up with the idea of a coworking space that provides private offices and conference rooms on an as-needed, hourly basis in 2019, shortly before the pandemic when many parents suddenly found themselves having to work from home.

Fandory Factory also has an indoor playground for those looking to give their little ones socialization, afterschool care or camp activities during school breaks.

Due to COVID restrictions Fandory Factory opened in October 2020 on a limited basis for those wanting a place for children to play with their self-made “pod” — limited social group. It fully opened as a coworking space and indoor playground in June 2021, Sabanovic said.

Sabanovic Lewis, 39, said the need for something like Fandory Factory came to her as she pursued a career as a family and newborn photographer and took care of her daughter, who was a toddler at the time and came up with the word Fandory to describe having fun.

“I needed a place like Fandory to do my work and be near my child,” she said.

Sabanovic Lewis said she had limited space at home for an office setup to edit her photos and found that her daughter did not understand she was working because they were at home.

“Kids want to hang onto their parents, so it is hard to focus on work,” Sabanovic Lewis said. “It is much harder to work from home than to go to a place where the kids are taken care of nearby.

“I did not want to send my daughter to daycare as these are her growing up years and they go fast,” she said. “In a few months there is a big difference, so it was hard to drop her off and not see her for the whole day. I wanted to be there.”

The 6,000-square-foot cowork space at 16787 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite 7 in The Plaza has several offices set up to accommodate one to four individuals per room and conference rooms seating six or more with Wi-Fi and other technological needs for video conferencing on TVs or meeting with clients. They are available for hourly rentals or, with a membership, for several hours each month.

Office space can be rented for 40 hours per month. Longer-term rental options are also offered. Most members use the facility on a part-time basis, Sabanovic Lewis said.

The sisters supervise the children — usually ages 1 to 5. A parent is required to stay on the premises because it is not a licensed daycare center.

While Sabanovic, 29, doesn’t have children, she has a lot of experience working with them. An accountant by trade, she said she doesn’t enjoy working in a windowless cubicle. At Fandory Factory, all the offices have windows.

Sabanovic can often be found in the playground with the children.

“I feel like all of them are mine,” she said. “Here I wear so many hats, as an owner and entrepreneur, doing all the financials and administrative work and being with the kids. Mirela leads the baking while I do the enrichment activities.”

The afterschool program for transitional kindergarten through fifth-graders does not require parents to be on-site. A pick-up service is available for students at Westwood Elementary in Rancho Bernardo and Chaparral and Painted Rock elementary schools in Poway.

Fandory Factory also offers Parents Night Out, open playtime, holiday-themed events and birthday parties, especially on the weekends. Participants do not need to be members, but there is a discount with membership.

Lou Weissberg, a university administrator who lives in Kearny Mesa, said she has been bringing her son Cooper, 3, since June 2021.

“I have worked from home since 2015 and my son Cooper was born during the pandemic,” Weissberg said. “We have been so isolated. We moved here from Los Angeles so this is the perfect place to be social and meet moms while getting my work done.”

Weissberg said because her son has autism she sits in the playground with her laptop so she can be near him. But having him around the other children is good for his social skills, she said.

The playground is set up to resemble a town, with playhouses that look like buildings. Sabanovic interacts with the children as they play. The parents, grandparents and nannies are also welcome to the playground.

Children are encouraged to learn as they play. If they are there for the entire day they also have nap time, reading time and activities such as baking, crafts and music.

“It is predominantly mothers who come, but we have a few fathers too,” Sabanovic Lewis said. “Most sit outside in the open space.”

Leili Meshki said she came across Fandory Factory accidentally. She and her husband, Omid Maghamfar, work in the same building at Coldwell Banker.

“I was bringing the girls to visit their dad (at work),” Meshki said.

Since Meshki’s mother provides daycare for Liana, 5, and Dalia, 3, the family joined for playground access. Liana has also attended the camps, baking classes and crafts activities.

Young and Jay Lee of Carmel Valley have been bringing their grandson, Bruce Lee, 2 1/2 to Fandory Factory for five months when they are watching him and he is not in daycare.

“It can entertain him, because there are things here that are interesting … and he has other kids and a choice of toys with which to play,” Young Lee said.

“We like the setup,” Jay Lee said.

“The owners are very nice and attentive too,” Young Lee added.

The private offices are mostly insulated from the sounds of children’s voices, especially when the doors are closed. Some people wear headphones while working, but everyone is understanding if a small child suddenly has a meltdown and gets loud, Sabanovic Lewis said.

Fandory Factory is not limited to parents. Adults who work from home and need a professional space to meet with clients or hold a company meeting for a few coworkers are welcome to rent office or conference room space.

Sabanovic Lewis said she and her sister do most of the work for now, with their husbands pitching in as their schedules permit. The space is not fully utilized yet, so there is plenty of opportunity for growth in coworking and child programming.

Several members said they appreciate having such a facility available to them.

“I definitely noticed how clean the toys are and it is really set up for imaginative play, like to be a chef, train conductor, to play house or with different cars,” Weissberg said.

“They have kept it meticulously,” Dorsey said. “The playground is so beautiful.”

There is drop-in pricing and membership rates for those who want the cowork and play option, to rent an office space only or just have a playground membership. For pricing, hours and programs visit fandory.com.