The Firepit
As winter labors on, I struggle to embrace the long, cold, grey months. My natural inclination is to search for a remedy. And the most consistent solution is usually to get warmer. Not just in temperature, but also in the texture of my clothes, my home, and the company I keep. My friends and family gathering together becomes a wonderful counterbalance to the doldrums of the season. Winter is the season of gathering, after all. Of families estranged traveling to rekindle times past. A time to contemplate as a community the traditions that have shaped us individually and together through our upbringing. All these gatherings serve as a source of something less dim in the peak of the winter.
Day to day, arrival home after work happens with the sun having been set for hours. So I open a bottle of wine and turn on the fireplace. Because there’s just something about a fire. Sitting by a fire beckons us to think, to laugh, and to slow things down just a bit.
To continue the theme of this issue, Come Together, we selected a product that facilitates people coming together in a special way. And there’s no better product at doing just that than a firepit. I’ve owned a number of firepits over the past ten years, and whether I’m enjoying beers with buddies after the game, discussing my goals for the next year with my wife, or making s’mores with my kids, they’ve never ceased to create space for time together with those closest to me. There are few better investments than a firepit. And one of our favorites is the Stahl Firepit. Launched just this month, it’s a beautiful piece that makes a home for the perfect fire and, in turn, a perfect place to come together.
The Stahl Firepit is a beautiful and refreshingly practical piece of both art and functionality. The design marries minimal lines with heavy steel. It assembles fast and has no bolts, hinges, or welds. It is both harshly cold and yet serves a single purpose: to provide warmth.
After spending some time with this wonderful display of metal, we were drawn to slow down and sit for a while, and eventually to cook a buttery steak (the Stahl Firepit has an optional accessory that turns the pit into a cooktop.) Yeah, every fire is great, but with the Stahl Firepit, it’s just better. It’s something you’ll want to show your son how to make his first fire in and, eventually, to hand down later in life. This is a generation piece.
At Classfare, we often wax on about the products that we find. And this piece from Stahl is worthy of the investment (and the waxing). But beyond its timelessness, functionality, and beauty lies an important axiom of what makes us human: to be communal. To understand that part of the critical nature of humanity is to be with one another. To share our lives. And there really is no substitute for unlocking this side of our nature than being in front of a fire — especially one this well done.