I’ve got just one question for Community apropos of their latest lounge line: why have you chosen to call it “Finn?” Not that I have anything against Alvar Aalto and the great legacy of Finnish bentwood, but this particular collection would seem to owe a greater debt to mid-century masters like Denmark’s Jens Risom.

The Finn Lounge Collection. Designed by QDesign. Manufactured by Community.

The Finn Collection is a Contemporary Homage to Mid-Century Modern

I suppose the extent of the influence is up to the whims of individual perception. But as Jasper (parent company of Community) Director of Product Development Ken Kern sees it, Finn “references off of the vintage 50s influence of Scandinavian design.”

Community developed Finn in collaboration with QDesign, both firms pursuing the objective of a contemporary collection that evoked the heydey of modern design yet still embraced modern production methods. In short, Finn aspires towards the vaunted mid-century look yet possesses enough millennial moxie to seem every bit a creature of the present.

The collection includes arm and armless seating (in one, two, and three-seaters), tables, and benches. And the materials palette is comprised of what some might consider the holy trinity of modern design: wood, metal, and upholstered foam.

Jasper offers Finn in maple, walnut, cherry, and white oak. The color palette tends toward subdued shades like black and a vintage blue-green, though Jasper does offer Finn in a semi-whimsical fabric of small, aligned circles.

One particularly fetching detail (hardly visible in the online pics, but mentioned by Ashley Werner in the above video interview) is Finn’s sandwich construction of wood and aluminum. The QDesign team achieved this by cutting aluminum sheets with water laser (see the video), then sandwiching these sheets between Finn’s fine handcrafted wood. The result is the visible line of metal that bisects all the pieces in the Finn Collection—another touch that situates this appealing homage to the 50s squarely in the here and now.

About the Manufacturer: Part of the Jasper Group family of brands, manufacturer Community excels at creating functional furniture for public spaces. Their line of seating, tables, and casegoods runs the aesthetic gamut, from the utilitarian solidity of the Class Act wood chairs, to the lustrous simplicity of the Laurel Occasional Tables, to the vintage panache of the Finn Lounge Collection. The versatility of Community’s products is such that they’re found in diverging venues like schools, doctor’s offices, courtrooms, and hospitals.