Shed in his Sunshine Coast office
Shed Simas graduated with his B.F.A. in 2012 and was an International Student and Visual Arts major from Brazil. He was initially drawn to UBC Okanagan’s FCCS because he was looking for an institution that would cover a wide range of academic topics to broaden his skill set as a visual artist.
In an interview, he stated that “[what] attracted me to UBCO specifically was a combination of UBC’s great reputation . . . the Okanagan setting, and the smaller, more contained campus.” One of UBC Okanagan’s key welcoming programs, Jump Start, played an integral role in Shed’s integration into campus life. Living on campus also proved to be immensely fortunate because Shed enjoyed the “convenience of being able to walk to the Fine Arts building and use it any time of day or night.”
Shed also made an impact on the local community while working with Nancy Holmes and Lori Mairs on the Woodhaven Eco Art Project. Shed mentioned that he enjoyed having the “opportunity to work in the natural wonder of Woodhaven Regional Park, practice [his] design skills quite extensively and be surrounded by eco art from artists of so many backgrounds.”
Shed working on a cover design
Shed used his experiences at UBC Okanagan’s FCCS to eventually acquire a position at Harbour Publishing on BC’s beautiful Sunshine Coast. Shed noted, “[the] whole concept of FCCS fits very well with publishing, an industry that perfectly brings creative and critical together.” He also added, “I think it was precisely the well-rounded nature of my background that convinced [Harbour Publishing] to hire me.” Some of his responsibilities include cover design and type setting books to be published.
The unique combination of creative and critical studies that our faculty pursues has provided a series of marketable skills that Shed skillfully demonstrated to the fine people at Harbour Publishing, one of the most influential publishing houses in British Columbia. Additionally, Shed is working on building Onça Publishing, which “is an attempt to bring literary speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, etc.) more attention, and also to celebrate the print object.” Their first intended publication, being funded by an IndieGoGo campaign, will be a limited edition version of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Book covers designed by Shed
Shed Simas represents one of many success stories for students of UBC Okanagan’s FCCS. In closing, Shed concluded: “It was a wonderful journey, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
This story was written by Brandon Taylor, English major in FCCS. Brandon is a Research Assistant in FCCS, contacting alumni to find out about their experiences here at UBCO.