About Us
Please and you're welcome. In German, “bitte” means both, and that essence of respect and humble gratitude translates into everything Bitte does. Created by daughter-mother duo, Maia McDonald Smith and Sara Jonnes McDonald, Bitte focuses on sustainable practices and modern design to create a unique shopping experience. Maia and Sara understand that young parents are concerned not only with caring for their little ones, but also with ensuring the world they live in will continue to be a fair and beautiful place. With that in mind, they culled through the small batch and artisan community to find brands that hold these same values at their core, curating the offering with an eye for refined style. Many of the featured brands are created by individuals with a clear passion for what they do, whether it’s outfitting little ones or designing toys to set their imaginations racing. Bitte is built to last, and here, you’ll find toys and clothing that will be cherished for years to come.
Maia McDonald Smith
Art director. Blogger. Pinner extraordinaire. New mother.
Maia McDonald Smith honed her eye for visual detail over eight years as a designer and art director (e.g. bossing around fonts and photos) for such international brands as Shopbop.com, Williams-Sonoma, and Rue magazine. It was only natural for Maia to bring her refined, modern style to social media, where she successfully blogs, Instagrams, and shares her latest design finds with her nearly two million Pinterest followers. Originally from Wisconsin, Maia transplanted her Midwestern, homespun sensibilities to the fertile soil of Northern California, where she has laid down roots with her young family.
Sara McDonald
Designer. Entrepreneur. Toy impresario. New grandmother.
As a young stay-at-home-mom Sara McDonald founded Magic Cabin, a small toy venture with similar guiding principles as Bitte. Sara built her little business from a kitchen-table enterprise into a multimillion-dollar brand, mentoring artisans to further their production capabilities along the way. After selling Magic Cabin Sara served as Vice President of Product Development and Creative Services for Faber-Castell USA, further honing her talents in product development, business development, and creative direction. With 25 years of experience in the toy industry, Sara is excited to bring her passion for ethically and aesthetically made products—and economically and ecologically-sound business practices—to Bitte.