About Us
Come As You Are. Leave More Yourself.
The first Imperfect weekend retreat. Full of laughter, conversation and exploration.
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I invited 6 fabulous women to join me on the south coast of England for a few days to lean into what The Imperfect Pride could be.
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From coaching and deep conversations to somatic movement, sounds baths, collaborative meals, coffees on the beach and naps on the grass, we created space to show up, be seen, be held, dream and to have fun.
There may have been a little Kate Bush involved too - the wild winds demanded it!
"We don't need another filtered space!"
Who We Are
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The Imperfect Pride is a wellbeing space, a women’s community,
and a home for real connection and support.
We create unusual 'retreats' and in-person events - alongside our expert coaching services - where we prioritise connection over perfection and invite you to show up as you are,
no pretending, no pressure.
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All our work and events focus on contributing to your wellbeing - in a vast number of ways.
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Not everyone can, or wants to join our in-person space, and still we feel and need your presence online too. Whether it's a like, a comment, a share, sharing your experience, or delivering workshops for your organisation online, this wider connection is the basis on which we will grow.
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We’re here for the women navigating change, loneliness, needing more womanness in their lives. For the ones who want more - not more to do - but more life,
more connection.
More softness. More edge. More courage. More being seen.
More permission to be exactly who you are.
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More more more...
(how do they like it, how do they like it? This might just become our anthem)
Our spaces are warm, bold, a little cheeky, and full of genuine welcomingness and imperfection.
We intend to be inclusive, particularly around diversity of culture, bodies and neurodivergence.
We won't and don't always get it right, because, you guessed it, we're imperfect too.
And, we're ready to listen, learn and grow.
You don’t have to be at any place, stage or age in your life to be here and to belong here.
You just have to be willing to show up as you, as much as is possible right now,
and let that be enough.
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Our aim is always to create a space where you can...
“We fill the spaces for each other that we cannot fill for ourselves.”
Come As You Are. Leave More Yourself.
What We Value
At The Imperfect Pride
​Courage over perfection
We’d rather you show up as you are than not at all.
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Curiosity over judgement
We make space for differences, questions, and growth.
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Growth over performance
You don’t need to be “together” to be here.
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Connection over curated
We want real, not rehearsed.
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Presence over pressure
There’s nothing to prove. Just come as you are.
Our Story
The Imperfect Pride was born out of a frustration and a wanting.
I was tired of going to 'wellness' events where all the women around me were showing up as some strange alien version of themselves. I just wanted to get to know them, not who they thought they should be at these events. I wanted to attend events (be them work or social) where I didn't have to consider if what I was wearing was appropriate or if my nails were done or chipped - because if they are painted, they're usually chipped. It bares no telling on who I am at my core. Beautiful nails look fab, they're just not a priority of mine, and cool if they are yours... let's not judge each other on that though.
I wanted to go to things that were good for my wellbeing but I didn't have to strive to be perfect in those spaces.
Somewhere where I got to be disheveled, and say the 'wrong' thing, and not feel the pressure to say the perfect thing about me or what I do.
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I found myself revelling in spaces where there was invitation to be exactly who I am, and an uncomfortable resistance to be in the places where she wasn't invited, and yet still I noticed that the facilitators / organisers didn't always know how to manage/ handle her, despite inviting her. I felt the awkwardness wherever I went, it was frustrating.
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The same stands for my coaching work, how are there so many coaching spaces where all of you is not welcome!?!
What I loved in all these spaces was the opportunity to meet and connect with other women, whether over a joke, a shared interest, life stage or work. To learn from one another, to build each other up, to offer support...ugh! Dreamy!
I realised, not only the whole "if something doesn't exist then create it"... but I have the skillset and the experience to create exactly what I've been craving​.
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I've tried and tested many an awkward and not so awkward way to connect and make friends. Not all successful and rarely 'easy'. I've just been willing to take the opportunity.
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That's why I've created The Imperfect Pride.
To create the opportunity for you to connect with other women, learn, support, grow and step into your courage, and perhaps make some friends along the way.
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The Imperfect Pride is now the home for all my work including CMB Coaching, where I offer 1:1 coaching for women and teens, and The Talking Tree, which focuses on education-based coaching and workshops. These aren’t side project, they’re integral parts of the pride. Everything else is The Imperfect Pride .
We don’t need more pressure on us as women. We need more connection.
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After years of holding space for women, in coaching, in classrooms, in workshops and breakfast clubs I kept seeing the same thing...
Brilliant, big-hearted women holding back from being who they really are.
Because they didn’t feel safe, or _____ enough, or able to take up space.
Or they felt like they needed to be more together, more perfect. Not true.
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So, I thought F*** that! Let me create the space and give full permission.
We don’t need another filtered space.
We need somewhere to show up and unmask if we need to, to let it all go, to vent, to be, to connect.
And here we have it...The Imperfect Pride, a community, welcoming you to be a part of our story.
Remember to
Motivated and at your best, or struggling and in need of support.
Seeking more fun and feeling adventurous.
You’re all welcome here.
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The photo above is where the 'out loud' exploration of what this could be began.
We welcome your input to explore with us, connect@theimperfectpride.com
Come As You Are. Leave More Yourself.
"...invitation to be exactly who I am,"
"...welcoming you to be..."
The Founder
Charlotte Mary Barton
I'm big, I can be loud and I love to pull dramatic faces. I'm also a woman who has spent many years seemingly playing small whilst I rebuilt my self-trust.
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I am deeply deeply passionate about women accepting and embracing exactly who we were born to be.
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I'm more than happy being imperfect when it comes to appearances and I struggle with perfectionism around my work. I want things to be perfect and flawless before sharing...I continue to work on that - this website is testament to it. Showing up Imperfectly.
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I love giving permission to women to be who they are by being very open about who I am and the messy, unusual and brilliant things I've lived through. I can be very direct and sometimes blurt before my brain has caught up, lucky for me I'm not easily embarrassed and as my mother has often said throughout my life "you've no shame!" - she's right, I don't. I've made terrible decisions in life, like getting engaged to the wrong man when I was 23. And, I've made much better ones like getting un-engaged that same year.
I've stayed in abusive relationships and not listened to my gut, and I've left them too by listening to my brain. I've second guessed myself, lost sight of parts of me, avoided, addressed and worked really f-ing hard to learn from it all and incorporate that into who I am now and moving forwards, I've learnt to trust myself again.
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I've had big ideas and followed them through (you're welcome!), and I've had others that didn't quite gather momentum. All of which has led me here.
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I have dry eye (apparently I can't blink well), Lipoedema and ADHD - a fun combo! I'm also a certified Life Coach - trained when I was 20, incorporated it into all careers through my 20s and went full-time in my 30s. I umpire netball having played since I was 6, I've lived in Tanzania, danced on my balcony with the monkeys watching, cried on my bathroom floor and held spaces for women for well over a decade, in volunteer houses, classrooms, coaching, workshops, group programmes and now, back to being in person!
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I get frustrated seeing women sell ourselves short, particularly when it comes with an apology of not being perfect. I've learned through my years as a woman and Life Coach that somewhere along the way we stopped believing we were allowed to be all that we are.
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I'm here to remind you, you get to be you. And we would be honoured if you joined us, imperfections and all.
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I promise to keep showing up imperfectly too.
