A job that changed me: As a jeweller, I wanted to avoid sweatshops. Then I realised I’d built one for myself

‘I was adamant I didn’t want a sweatshop involved in my business but there already was one: the one I’d created for myself,’ Simone Walsh writes. Photograph: Supplied

I’ve been a jewellery maker for some 30 years, making silver and gold pieces that are influenced by my visual arts background. Initially I sold my jewellery at markets in Adelaide and in some boutiques and galleries around Australia.

In 2006 I tried out a new marketplace called Etsy. I felt sure nobody would want to buy jewellery online but decided to experiment. I hurriedly listed a few basic pieces and was astonished when my first online sale happened within an hour. Having proven myself wrong, I established an independent online store – one of the earliest in Australia, back when internet shopping wasn’t widely embraced here.