For Angela Fioretti, an art director at Core Creative, her job and her main hobby sort of blend together.
At work, she’s constantly scanning Pinterest and collecting ideas that could inform the artistic direction of marketing and advertising campaigns for clients. Outside of work, she does the same thing, but instead of collecting ideas for campaigns, she’s collecting ideas for Halloween costumes.
Because for Fioretti, Halloween is a year-round hobby. And she’s very, very good at applying makeup.
“I’ve always been a creative person,” she said. “I’ve always painted and drawn. When I was 7, I got a face-painting kit. I locked myself in a room and came out as a cheetah, and that started my interest in it. As an adult, I love Halloween. It feels different every year. I love Christmas and all the other holidays, but Halloween is an opportunity to be creative and fun and it’s socially acceptable.”
Each year, she and her boyfriend participate in a bicycle bar crawl through Kenosha during which each participant dresses – in some way, shape or form – like a zombie. It’s called “Ride of the Living Dead,” and Fioretti, because of her over-the-top and expertly-applied makeup, has become a recognizable figure among the participants.
“I’ve had people say to me: ‘I recognize you every year, but I don’t know exactly what you look like because your face is usually split open,’” she said, and laughed.
Although Halloween 2017 is 10 months away, she’s been thinking about her next costume for weeks.
When it comes to having a hobby so similar to her job, Fioretti said she loves it.
“It blends together, so I don’t really feel like I’m stuck creatively, and I never feel desperate for a project,” she said. “I’m never bored, which is great. Because I think that’s a creative person’s biggest weakness is when they need something to do.”
