Getting Up-To-Date

First, what is it Im trying to do here? What is Bflotees? Its a themed t-shirt design and online retail shop that focuses its messaging on the City of Buffalo. All things Buffalo, like architecture, industry, topics of discussion, festivals, sports, etc. The look for the shirts will be somewhere between the quirky hipster to 50's retro.
Here's my first draft mission statement:
1. For Buffalotees.com to become the t-shirt design people go to when they think Buffalo.
2. To sell Buffalo t-shirts with messaging/artwork that is smarter, more unique and of higher quality than competitors.
3. To get others to say, "cool, where'd ya get that shirt?" when they see one.
Hmmm, thats not quite right but Ill leave it for now.
Ok now that we got that sorted, so far Ive been working on some t-shirt designs and thinking about my next moves. I have the domain name purchased: bflotees.com, and have a prelim logo for it (thats it above). Ive got maybe a dozen ideas created and ready to go.
Im stuck though...
These are my options:
Order sample shirts, take some photos, create a postcard and see if I get orders from stores around town.
Get the website up and running, market to online communities like Buffalo Rising and take pre-orders (offer a discount if they order ahead) This would give me an idea on quantities to order.
Eventually I'd like to screen print my own t-shirts, but I think partnering with a screenprinter right now makes more sense in terms of time-management and overhead.
I do know Im going with American Apparel shirts. They're just the best made shirts out there and they are made in the usa.