Our Story

In 2015, Erin started her journey into online retail by opening a bookmark shop on Etsy called BibliophilePrints. In 2020 she moved to the Orlando area and reimagined her now much bigger business as an independent bookstore. She knew she would have to start small and online and she transitioned to her store being called Erin Decker Creative to encompass everything she was doing and selling. She imagined her bookstore would be a brick and mortar in 20 years or so. During this time she met Tania, through their work as school library media specialists in Osceola County.

In 2021, the state of Florida was experience extreme changes in the public school setting which was making the work of a school library media specialist not only impossibly difficult, but in Erin and Tania's opinion, dangerous for our students' freedom of expression and access to truth and learning. They started to brainstorm ways to fight back. They spoke at school board meetings, were interviewed by the press, followed the Florida Freedom to Read Project, spoke at Board of Education meetings at the state level, but it wasn't enough and the book challenges kept on coming and effecting their work.

In early 2023 they hit a breaking point and knew that they needed to have a plan B for their careers - and the way they could effect change for students in the state of Florida. They decided to create their own safe space and in March of 2023 they incorporated White Rose Books & More together. Tania has a background in corporate marketing and has lived in Kissimmee for 29 years so together Erin and Tania knew they were unstoppable.

The name White Rose was borrowed from the White Rose Resistance. Led by Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie, the White Rose Resistance was a small collective of students who secretly wrote and distributed leaflets all around Germany, criticizing the Nazis and inspiring others to resist them.

White Rose Books & More opened to the public in mid-October of 2023 and closed the doors to their Brick & Mortar in March of 2026. In 2025 the White Rose Books & More Foundation was born to help get banned books back into the hands of Florida youth and teens as well as help fund grants to school and public libraries that are losing funding and books due to national, state, and local book bans and bills. Tania and Erin continue to speak out against what is happening in Florida, and around the USA, and tracking bills that they know will be harmful to students in Florida and to literacy. They continue to do their work with a larger focus on their foundation through online and pop-up events.

Places We have been Featured:

The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2023/florida-book-bans-school-rules/

The Librarian Linkover:

https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/ZExJcZeqLDb

Specifically for Seniors:

https://www.specificallyforseniors.com/tania-galianes/

#BecauseMiami Podcast - The Dan Le Batard Show:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/becausemiami-managed-retreat/id934820588?i=1000635192190

Living Out Loud Live (Podcast)

Season 2, ep 2 - The ban on books and thought: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=560VcvFsTGo

Season 1, ep 13 - WTF (Our Grand Opening!) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iNDPSHNJy8

ABFE - American Booksellers for Free Expression: