12 August 2025
Coast and Wild is run by Pembrokeshire artists Noelle Pollington and Jon Jones. They create fine art seaweed prints from their hand pressed seaweed collection from the Pembrokeshire coast.
Jon grew up in north Pembrokeshire while Noelle visited on holiday many years ago and never had the heart to leave. They now live in Dinas, near Newport – a magical place where the mountains meet the sea and the coastline abounds with small coves, some only accessed along the coastal path or via pretty pathways through the fields.
Living just a stone’s throw away from many beautiful beaches and coves they spend many hours wondering the shores. Foraging for seaweed connects them to the coastline, observing the weather and tides, the sand beneath their feet and the calming sound of the sea.
The process involves collecting small amounts of seaweed that are floating loose or washed up on the beach. It is then pressed in a similar way to pressing flowers. When the seaweeds are dried, they use high resolution digital capture to preserve their delicate details. The finished prints are true reflections of the original piece and will last for years. In this way, they reduce the amount of seaweed collected.
They keep the original pressings in an ever-growing archive which they hope will become part of a beautiful and useful record of marine plants along the Pembrokeshire coast throughout the years.
As part of Jon's love of the landscape he has accrued a fascinating collection of restored vintage maps of the Pembrokeshire coastline. Filled with beautiful old place names, rocks, inlets and places of interest – they are perfect for foragers and coastal lovers alike.
Coast and Wild is a small studio at their home on the road to Pwllgwaelod beach. It is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays and visitors are welcome to call in advance or simply knock on the door on other days if they are passing.
The couple love meeting people who are visiting the coast or walking the coast path from all over the country and other parts of the world.
People often spend quite a while choosing a collection of prints which work together, and Noelle and Jon are happy to help with this or simply let people spend time choosing their own. There is no rush at Coast and Wild. Noelle said: “It feels very special to us that people appreciate our work and that they are able to take home a beautiful reminder of Pembrokeshire and a small reminder of the ocean's importance in our eco system.”
