It’s rather sad when you discover something or someone a little too late—like those movies where you must endure an endless series of near-meetings only to have the star-crossed lovers meet at the very end (or never at all if it’s French). At the time I was looking for a chimney-free fireplace, my choices were rather limited—in fact, it would not be an exaggeration to claim they were nonexistent. Now, I come across such wonders everywhere, as if I were being mocked by the gods of design. I have fallen in love time and time again with flue-less fireplaces. Turn nearly drove me wild with its flexibility. Cupola swept me off my feet with its rotundity. A6DS made my heart flutter with its artfulness. Right on time for Saint Valentine, I am currently being tormented by Roll Fire, the flaming wheel by Conmoto.

Roll Fire. Designed by Conmoto.

The maker of innovative fireplaces has a captivating motto: “Love burns, love grows, love happens.” This is surely the work of Conmoto’s romantic founder, Johannes Wagner, someone who was infatuated by fire and fire irons since he was a child: “Beautifully formed with clean lines, without frills and designed with verve, that is how he envisaged his new series. Already as a schoolboy, he was working on his design for a set of fire irons which would be of lasting value.” Wagner surpassed the usual playing with matches to such a degree that I find his boyhood self to be particularly enchanting. I don’t know if Wagner got the idea of Roll Fire from the many round toys of youth—balls, marbles, tires—but the fireplace’s playfulness may indicate a yen for boyhood wonderment.

Roll Fire burns for two to three hours using bio-ethanol fuel. The 65 h x 65 w x 22 d centimeter fireplace is truly a ring of fire. But it’s the movement that makes Roll Fire a true delight: “As it rolls, ROLL FIRE easily balances its stainless steel tank, mounted on its roller bearings. The two glass panes fitted at the sides render it completely transparent.” If you want a little more stability in your relationship, use the wall mount to fix the flame in place. “Alternatively, the bracket can be used to secure the fire to the floor—for those who want to see their Roll Fire with rather less of a life of its own.” It’s really a romantic metaphor. If you like a challenge, go for the moveable Roll Fire. If you want stability, secure it in place. However you prefer, Roll Fire will fulfill your desire for fire.