Buffalo T-shirts and The Waiting Game

Image via WikipediaI am still awaiting the t-shirt blanks from American Apparel. Its been 10 days and Ive gotten no word, no tracking number. Nothing but an invoice. When will they arrive? Im desperate to get them in and make these shirts. I was hoping to have them for my Erie Canal trip-wouldve been (and still will be) a great promotional vehicle. I am packing my Buffalo T-shirt bumber stickers and plan on leaving bunches in strategic places on our stops (restaurants, taverns, bars, watering holes, beer gardens...) I really wanted to take a stash of shirts with me too (perhaps it could still happen. If I get shirts in today or tomorrow, perhaps I can find someone to bust out the logo shirts quickly. It could happen.
Ive also been looking into the Buffalo Indie Market for a future venue to shop the Buffalo T-shirt wares. They seem to be getting a fair amount of press and healthy crowds and they set up once a month or so at the Pearl Street Brewery.
Next step is plopping down some cash for the hem labels.

Buffalo T-shirts brand tee

Im kicking around this t-shirt for the opening. Just the Buffalo T-shirts logo. Ive gotten a good response concerning the logo–people seem to like the look of it. A bit industrial, a little raw. Its got something for sure. If I'm going to build a brand, it should act like one right from the get-go. Besides that, I like the way these shirts look. I want one. So I'll print 50 of them and see what happens.
Heres where you come in. Should I eliminate one of the original tees, pictured on the bflotees web site, and replace it with the Buffalo brand t-shirt? Let me know what you think. Also, what color ink/shirts do you like for the brand t-shirt:
1. cool gray/black
2. mustard/olive
3. blue on brown

UPDATE: Ive received the swatches. I am currently matches inks to the fabric. Plan to order shirts Monday from the manufacturer, American Apparel. Were inching closer, like this month!

Buffalo T-shirts Swatches

My printer called and the swatches from American Apparel are in...FINALLY. This week we'll pick out shirt colors, place an order and wait for them to come in. Maybe 2-3 weeks away from actual printed shirts.

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Giving Serious Thought

Thinking about doing this right and talking to the SBA or SCORE and creating a business plan. It'll be a ton of work and headache but will give me focus and real goals to achieve.
Im having fun finding places to put my link online AND got my first reply to the mailing list, so theres at least one person out there looking forward to my opening besides me.
Also waiting to hear back from my screen print partner. She is looking into creating an American Apparel account which would consolidate some of the process, making it a little easier to order shirts (although probably more expensive). I still have to talk money with her. If this goes the way I hope, we'll both be benefitting from it and I'd like to have a partner willing to share the risk (at least partially at first) by discounting the shirts or printing.
Took another walk yesterday down by the marina and Naval Park-great progress being seen down there and I couldnt believe my eyes: A BOARDWALK IN BUFFALO! Got pics to upload of it.
Spent some time browsing the history of Buffalo and found 2 or 3 interesting facts that will make great shirts! Stay tuned!

Wholesale Pricing

Heard back from the local screen printer yesterday. He gave a price of $11.50/shirt with American Apparel (AA) tees or 4.50 per if I supply my own shirts. After a little digging and signing up to a few places, I found and qualified for wholesale pricing of 4.13 per for AA shirts that retail for 15.00. Nice. Im not positive on shipping charges though...thats my next inquiry. Also, I applied for wholesale status with AA and am waiting to hear back. Ive heard their price is 3.90 per with no minimum. They are supposed to get back to me today.
Ah, American Apparel ships free (over $50). Hopefully Ill hear back soon from them and get this ship on the water.

The other place for AA shirts is here:
http://www.friedmansactivewear.com

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.