meet the citizens behind the scenes say hello
behind the scenes
the dream
Have you ever watched Beauty and the Beast or Fantasia by Disney, those magical films where objects move on their own, spoons and forks dancing across the dining table, or a broom sweeping the floor by itself?
unstatic shares that same dream, and we're here to make it real.
It all started with a question:
What would it feel like to live in a world where static objects could actually interact with us?
At unstatic, we are building a universe of citizen objects with life. Each with their own personality, able to interact with us in ways that feel genuinely alive. A universe that is joyful, unpredictable, and a little extra.
the origin
Through her thesis research at RISD, Portia developed hands-on skills in physical computing and built the first citizens of unstatic from the ground up, “Rolly, the mug”, “Twisty, the lamp” and “Coily, the lamp”.
At her graduation show, she watched strangers stop, smile, and lean in to connect with them. That was the spark. That was the moment she knew she had to share this vision with the world.
the belief
As more smart objects enter our lives, everything becomes an app. We rely more and more on screens, text, and voice assistants. Somewhere along the way, we start losing our connection to the physical things around us. It's not the same as hitting a stop button on a phone as pressing a real button on an alarm clock. The tactility, the presence, the realness of objects, it matters.
At unstatic, we believe movement changes everything. When an object moves with personality rather than just function, not responding to commands, but expressing something of its own, something shifts in how we relate to it. Objects stop being tools and start feeling like presences.
When that happens, something unexpected follows:
Emotional connections we never planned for, memories we didn't expect to make, a warmth in the everyday that screens simply can't replicate.
That's what we're exploring. Not smarter objects. Just objects with enough presence and personality to make you feel something. Maybe, if we're lucky, to make everyday life feel a little more magical.
© 2026 unstatic