The story so far.
One family, two shores, and a back-and-forth that has lasted three generations. This is how a chance crossing in 1968 slowly became a small cultural house between Canada and Japan.
Nissan Datsun
Lawrence Filiatrault, a Datsun dealer, first crosses the Pacific to Japan. The back-and-forth begins.
Fili's Deli
Lawrence's deli in the lakeside town of Salmon Arm — where the family's Canadian life takes root.
Frames by Filiatrault
Three decades of cutting frames by hand — the framer's craft the house still carries into everything it makes.
ABC English Center
A classroom between two countries — the first ABC, teaching English across the Sawara region.
Sister Cities
Twenty-five years of exchange between Inashiki, Ibaraki and Salmon Arm, B.C. People, not just letters, cross the ocean.
ABC Culture Center
The house opens its doors in Sawara — media, learning and art under one roof. Where the story so far becomes what happens next.
A good frame disappears — what stays with you is the picture.
What's next
The house opens its doors in Sawara — media, learning and art under one roof. We start by publishing: essays on the world, the markets, culture and daily life, edited from a small room in Sawara. The rest follows the way this family has always moved — slowly, across two shores.