BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
PETER Kennedie Bubulu is no stranger to face disciplinary actions during his days in high school. He was indefinitely suspended from school, however, that did not make him feel like a failure.
Now with more than 3 years in the business of designing, and manufacturing headstones and 3D signs in Honiara, the general manager and owner of Absolute Graphic Limited (AGL) Signs and Memorials, Peter Bubulu recalled his high school bible teacher advising him that ‘Failure Is Not Final Unless You Quit.’
He completed his primary education – from grade one to six at his home Village in Forau, Ata in the Northern region of Malaita province before entering his secondary level education – forms one to five at Su’u National secondary school in the 80s.
“I attended my six years of primary schooling at my home village in Forau and later failed to complete my form five secondary education at the Su’u secondary national secondary school in 1985.
“Just like any other student, the chances to face tough disciplinary actions are quite high if school rules are broken. In form 5, I was given a week suspension by the Su’u School disciplinary committee and I decided to quit schooling because I was too shy to return to the school,” Peter Bubulu told Sunday Isles. “I made up my mind to write an acknowledgment letter to the school headmaster, acknowledging him for the four and half years I spend at Su’u school.”
The Honiara resident who has previously taken a break from sign writing to become an entrepreneur said being faced with failure after quitting school, he later developed a great interest in artwork and designing.
“Since faced with such failure in education, my attitude over time become more positive and I started to grow mentally and gain more confidence in my talent and skills in art designing.
“The situation of failure in my past continues to change and get better since I have learned to grow out from my mistakes. Since I never give up on my failures in life, I learn to realize my talents and I later dedicated myself to pursuing my dreams to study Graphic Design in New Zealand.
“After quitting secondary education, I managed to get an opportunity to undergo tertiary education in New Zealand, which I later graduated with a Bachelor in Graphic Design (BGD) from the Auckland Institute of Technology.
“Now I am a qualified Graphic Designer with a bachelor’s Degree in Graphics (BGD) after I completed my four years program from 1995 to 1998 in New Zealand,” he said.
Absolute Graphic Limited (AGL) Signs & Memorials is an established family-owned business, founded by Peter Bubulu in 2019, and the business is specialized in the design and creation of quality custom-built headstones, memorials, plaques, grave markers, and monuments.
This year, the business took a new turn by venturing into the manufacturing of 3 Dimensional signs, letters, and logos thanks to the latest installation of its laser C02 cutting machine.
This means that Absolute Graphic Limited now becomes the first local business in the country to produce 3D signs from acrylic signs to channel letters for local customers.
