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Dory or Doory? Why we dropped an O
Same object, same people. Where the name came from, and what Dory is.
Written by Lorenzo Gumiero
Contents4 sections
It is Dory, with one O. If you searched for Doory, you are in the right place: same object, same people. Dory is a smart key tray for the entryway. It recognises who is heading out and tells them what they were about to forget.
Where the two O's came from
The first name was Doory, from door. An assistant waiting for you on the threshold. On paper it worked.
Then native English speakers read it aloud. With two O's it sounds like doo-ree: long, slow, heavy. We wanted the opposite. An object that takes things off your mind should not have a name that adds one.
Dory is short. It sits well next to a front door. You read it in half a second. If you typed Doory, you did nothing wrong. You just got here before we did.
What Dory is, and what it is not
Dory sits by the front door. You drop your keys in it when you come home, as you would anyway. When you pick them up to leave, it speaks: the lunch in the fridge, the umbrella, the documents, the gym bag.
Each person in the home links their own keys to their own profile, so only their reminders play. No camera. No microphone listening to the room. When the last person leaves, it can also turn off the lights, lower the thermostat or arm the alarm.
It is easy to mix up with other products that share part of the name, so, to be clear: Dory is not a smart lock, not an access keypad for hotels, and not an app. It is a key tray.
Who is building it, and when you can get one
Dory is designed and developed in Italy by three founders: Thomas David Short on product and design, Federico Zarantonello on technology, Lorenzo Gumiero on numbers and growth. The team works in Milan, at Habits Design Studio.
Three units already live in our own entryways. The next step is a batch of thirty, built for homes that are not ours. Dory is not on sale yet: it launches on Kickstarter in February 2027.
At a glance
- Product
- Dory, a smart key tray for the home entryway
- Name
- Dory, with one O. First written Doory
- Team
- Thomas David Short, Federico Zarantonello, Lorenzo Gumiero
- Based in
- Milan, Italy
- Next step
- Thirty units in real homes, then Kickstarter in February 2027
- Website
- doryhome.com
Frequently Asked Questions
It is spelled Dory, with one O. Doory is how the project was first written, because the name came from door. Same object and same people. Dory is the smart key tray that tells you what you are about to forget when you pick up your keys.
No. Dory does not open doors, does not manage access codes and is not built for hotels or rentals. It is a key tray that sits by your front door and, when you pick up your keys, reminds you of what you need before you walk out.
Dory is not on sale yet. It launches on Kickstarter in February 2027. People who join the waitlist hear on the day the campaign opens and can lock in the discount reserved for the first backers.
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